Q2 - Should the USC also be considering other factors, such as upload speed, affordability, flexibility (usage allowances) and latency performance?
Answer:
Certainly the parameters for the USC must be directly related to fitness for purpose – from a t-government enablement perspective, the requirements are currently quite modest, from a gamer's point of view the USC sucks.
The real point is to get ubiquitous future-proof service, fiwi deep and wide, as soon as possible.
End.
Future Next Generation Access (NGA) Broadband
Q3 - Defining what "super-fast" Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband actually means continues to be a huge problem, which allows for political and technological goal-posts to be shifted at will.
The previous Labour government effectively tried to define it, through their Digital Economy Act 2010 (DEA), as being any service offering speeds of 50Mb+. The pre-election Liberal Democrats preferred to set the target at 40Mb+, while the pre-election Conservative party even briefly mooted a figure of 100Mb.
By contrast, Ofcom's March 2010 wholesale market review defines NGA as being any service capable of offering download speeds above 24Mb, while the governments tax setting Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has it as 20Mb+. How do you think NGA should be defined and why does nobody include mention of other crucial factors, such as upload speed and latency?
Answer:
In order to be and stay credible on the global level, the benchmark for NGA is dynamic and ever increasing.
Currently, anything less than 100Mbps SYMMETRIC is less than world-class and that bar raises to 1Gbps symmetric in 2012.
The simple truth is that to deliver a future-proof 4th utility then the full optical path delivery directly to the premises is a must – anything less is frankly a cop(per)-out.
Q4 - The drive to reach "most" of the population with super-fast Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband by 2015 appears to be too soft of a target. For example, BT alone will have 66% of premises covered in the same year with its 40Mb FTTC service.
However the governments focus is supposed to be upon tackling coverage to remote and rural areas, not those that will already benefit from private investment. Do we need a more constructive target to help drive NGA and how long do you think it will take to bring "superfast" solutions to the whole country?
Answer:
This is a most interesting question!
The rationale and justification for legitimate government intervention that is free from any state aid challenge is demonstrable market failure.
Based on BT's 66% (of the UK population), now only upto? 5Mbps, FttC investment thus the so-called Final Third is defined.
So, the Final Third is actually incumbent failure not market failure
This is a point that NextGenUs has made several times to Government, most recently since the commencement of service on the Ashby FttH network in Lincolnshire in November, namely:
There was no market failure in the first place and now there is instead market distortion caused by premature government intervention.
How long will future-proof FttH take? Ask the customer is the simple answer!
As it stands today, once a community is willing to step up enmasse and demand change then NextGenUs will build, own and operate in the Community Interest and I am sure there will be communities who independently establish their own CICs to similarly take control of the First Mile and NextGenUs as part of its Community Interest remit will be happy to help here too.
