The UK government’s current superfast broadband rollout targets are not satisfactory and needs to be reconsidered claims new report.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has slammed the Government’s broadband target, which is to deliver bandwidth speeds of 24 megabits per second (Mbps) to 95 percent of the population and 2Mbps for the remaining five percent by 2017, stating that the current target is not “sufficiently ambitious” and that it would fail to meet the growing needs of UK businesses.
The industry body in its report entitled “The Fourth Utility: Delivering universal broadband connectivity for small businesses across the UK,” found that around 94 percent of the surveyed members are of the opinion that a reliable internet connection is critical to the success of their business.
The report suggests that around 45,000 UK businesses are still relying on outdated dial-up internet connections, while only 15 percent of the firms are satisfied with their broadband provision.
The FSB is calling for the UK government to revise its existing broadband targets and commit to deliver a minimum speed of 10Mbps to all UK homes and businesses by 2018-19 and ensure guaranteed minimum broadband speeds of 100Mbps by 2030.
Furthermore, the organization also wants the government to prioritize the delivery of fibre-optic broadband to new as well as existing business parks across the country.
According to the FSB, structural reform of the broadband market is required to boost regional economic development and support the arrival of new entrants into the broadband market. In addition, the government should also ensure availability of better choice of services for businesses, in aspects of minimum bandwidth levels, reliable connections, upload and download speeds, at affordable prices.
