Ofcom to make business broadband 'top priority'
Improving broadband services for the UK's small businesses is top of Ofcom's list of priorities, according to the organisation's chief executive.
Sharon White became the new head of the communications regulator in March this year. According to an article in The Times on Wednesday (22 July), she has now pledged to work with ministers to tackle the problem of slow and unreliable broadband that is holding back SMEs.
Specifically, Ms White has reportedly told the culture, media and sport committee that small businesses in the UK are being ignored by many service providers. As a result, these businesses are finding themselves “squeezed” between bespoke business broadband packages - which are focused on larger firms and thus out of the price range of SMEs - and consumer packages that are not fit for purpose.
Ian Lucas, Labour MP for Wrexham, posed the question to the Ofcom chief: “Businesses had an expectation and they’re not getting it. Is that a failure of the process?”
In response Ms White acknowledged that there is a “real issue” for small companies, stating that the drive towards universal service for broadband speeds had centred on consumers but should also include business broadband.
Ofcom is due to release a report this autumn that will examine the broadband speeds available across the UK, drilling down into great detail, even by post code. This in turn, it is hoped, will enable the department for culture, media and sport to establish the parts of the country that require attention.
Ms White said of the issue of small businesses being overlooked in the broadband market: “This is a really, really critical area. The digital divide is a much more serious issue than even two, three, four, five years ago because that’s how we now live our lives.”
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