It's somewhat puzzling where this Labour broadband proposal has suddenly appeared from. No hint of it before from what I recall and it's unclear how well thought through it is. Perhaps more of an aspiration than detailed policy? Obviously, internet use is becoming as important as the road network in day-to-day life for some and there is a disparity in quality between different areas so there's possibly a case for government intervention or supervision as with roads. It's not clear exactly what's proposed other than possibly reprivatisation of BT OpenReach but what about access provided by Virgin cable and Sky's integrated bundles of TV, internet and phones? Additionally, there's the potential for 5G to possibly replace some fixed line broadband connectivity. Does the focus on OpenReach mean they're just looking at upgrading the local loop and FTTC to FTTP from homes to the DSL Access Modules then leaving the connectivity from exchanges to the core internet backbone for private companies to supply? I suspect secretly a number of people inside BT wouldn't be unhappy to lose OpenReach - providing a regulated service where you have to supply your competitors to a prescribed quality standard and get blamed for all the faults in old, inadequate infrastructure designed in the early 20th century isn't a great business model. I'm not sure about free provision, we pay for other public services although I suppose road usage is free to some traffic. There is some suggestion of taxing internet companies; it wouldn't seem unreasonable to charge Google, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, etc for using internet delivery services as they make large profits from consumers accessing the internet, and TV companies have to pay for DTV transmission facilities. Also, it might be a easy of levelling the completion between internet sales and high street shopping? However, sorting out railways, water and energy utility services seems a higher priority; after all, the BT privatisation seemed one of the more successful privatisations until broadband emerged.
Michael Ixer ● 2552d