Posted: 08th Nov, 2003 By: MarkJ
Next Tuesday will see the Trade and Industry Committee, chaired by Labour MP Martin O'Neill, begin its investigation into the state of UK broadband Internet access:
On the agenda is an inquiry into the state of "Broadband Britain" with BT, Oftel, AOL UK, Freeserve and others slugging it out to put forward their positions.
It's likely to seek more detail on the roll-out of broadband and examine the effect of competition on the broadband landscape against the backdrop of BT's own roll-out of ADSL and its supporting marketing operation.
Despite long-running criticism from rivals and lobby groups, BT is likely to mount a robust defence of its handling of the roll-out of broadband and its position as a dominant player. It's expected to argue that the UK has the fastest-growing and most competitive market in Europe, coming second only to Germany in terms of size.We feel that the majority concern should remain with bringing hi-speed technology to rural areas and can only hope that this issue is touched on more fully than usual.
Currently the investigation looks set to become more of a food fight, with dominant Telcos and ISPs exchanging mutual criticism rather than being productive. More @
The Register.