The UK Governments Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) last week published its long awaited Francesco Caio report into the investment barriers facing next-generation broadband services (NGA). The report notes the strengths of our existing UK broadband market and proposes some strong ideas for future network development and funding, though it does little to combat the perception that rural parts of the country may be left out.

Mark Jackson, ISPreview.co.uk’s Editor-in-Chief, said: "It’s common knowledge that many of the remotest parts of our country are being left dramatically behind, with some unable to get a broadband connection of any sort. Meanwhile those rural residents and business that can receive broadband are often at the extreme end of their exchanges capability and only ever able to connect with half a megabit (0.5Mbps), sometimes a little more if they’re very lucky. This is simply not acceptable.”

“The proposals made in Caio’s report make an undeniably strong and welcome case for bringing next generation broadband to areas where it is economically viable to do so, yet offers precious little for those making their homes further out. Without the necessary investment we risk fostering development of an increasingly two tier society, where people living and working in urban areas will have access to broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps, while those in rural or remote parts might see little to no change at all.”

Caio’s report does propose a degree of support for community initiatives, such as the local public and private partnerships that helped broadband reach into many rural locations during the earlier years of broadband. However this was achieved using existing infrastructure, while newer solutions may require a more radical and potentially costlier change.

Jackson concludes: “The simple fact of the matter is that our government needs to get off its backside and stop isolating rural communities from the rest of the economy. Public and private partnerships are necessary but they will only get you so far and could take years to organise and deliver, much as they did for first generation broadband. Modern and future Internet services, such as Internet TV (IPTV), are already out of reach for many of these areas and it is surely unconscionable to allow a widening of this gulf.”