Business leaders urge government to set a switch-off date for slow internet
The UK government has been encouraged to set an official switch-off date for copper wired broadband by the Institute of Directors (IoD), in favour of installing a fibre optic network to boost speeds and reliable connectivity.
A greater sense of urgency is encouraged, with 2025 noted as the IoD's preferred year for switching off all copper cables in a majority of areas, with full fibre networks to be rolled to the rest of the country by 2033.
Faster fibre connections are expected to provide a number of economic benefits, including boosting business productivity by allowing people to work from home.
A spokesperson for the IoD said: “With an ever-changing world of work, businesses should be looking to enable employees to work flexibly. Unfortunately, firms are paying the price for the neglect of full fibre connectivity. We are jogging while the rest of the world is sprinting. We need a copper switch-off date of 2025 or soon after.”
Research has shown that the UK falls behind 25 European countries in terms of connectivity, ranking 35th in the world due to its reliance on copper infrastructure as opposed to fibre broadband.
Statistics have also shown that 78 per cent of those polled were frustrated by slow internet speeds, increasing to 82 per cent with those who worked from home. A whopping 99 per cent admitted that faster broadband would benefit their professional lives.
“Where you live should not determine your ability to work, or even start a business, with flexibility. The internet should be creating a more level playing-field for businesses regardless of location, but uneven broadband coverage means the opposite is true. For many firms, particularly in rural areas, poor connections lead to lost business and missed opportunities.”
Presently, there are 10 million homes and businesses that have superfast broadband connectivity of 24Mbps or more. However, Ofcom suggests that an additional 4 million households could benefit from such speeds for the same, or less, cost.
Plans are currently being made to rollout fibre connectivity to 3 million households and companies by 2020.
