FTTH networks required for true broadband speeds
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Only fibre to the home networks will allow consumers to get the
broadband speeds they are paying for
Antiquated copper networks designed to support telephone calls
are responsible for consumers only getting about half the
advertised broadband speed they are paying for, according to fibre
to the home (FTTH) network specialists and i3 Group company,
Fibrecity Holdings.
The findings of the recent Ofcom report on broadband speeds in
the UK have resulted in the regulator calling for a 'common
broadband currency'. According to Fibrecity Holdings, this is only
part of the solution. In order for consumers to get the services
they are demanding, an infrastructure capable of delivering these
super fast broadband services needs to be built.
Elfed Thomas, CEO of the i3 Group said: "The latest UK broadband
speeds are simply a result of the inadequate infrastructure that
exists in this country, and the market is being constrained by
three or four players who are misleading the public with the
terminology of fibre to the home and speed. It must be very
frustrating for consumers that are demanding faster upload and
download speeds as more and more bandwidth hungry applications are
developed for use in both a personal and professional
capacity."
Elfed Thomas continues: "Even more frustrating is that consumers
are apparently being duped into believing that they are buying
faster broadband because it is being delivered over a fibre optic
network when clearly it's not.
"It is impossible for such claims to be made to the public at
large, as there are only small pockets of households that currently
have true fibre to the home - though this will change with rollouts
such as Fibrecity networks - these are the only consumers that will
be experiencing true fibre optic superfast broadband."
The government has recently taken over the reins of facilitating
a 'broadband Britain' which Elfed Thomas is keen to see results
from. "It is imperative that the government's plans for a broadband
Britain consider what infrastructure will scale to consumer needs
rather than build something that is suitable for needs right for
now, but outdated before it is even finished. In my opinion, the
only way to ensure guaranteed speeds for consumers is to build
commercially viable, fibre to the home networks.
"The government and local councils need to support proven
commercial methods such as Fibrecity networks, as this will ensure
the fast delivery of super fast fibre to the home networks and
introduce more competition to the existing suppliers who are
stifling customer choice and misleading the public."
Fibrecity Holdings is building the largest commercially viable
fibre to the home networks across the UK without the use of the
public purse. The Fibrecity network is 100Mbps symmetrical (same
upload and download speeds) connections with 1 Gbps boost and more
than one million homes will be connected over the next four years
starting with homes in Bournemouth. The Fibrecity network is open
access which means any service provider can deliver services over
it. Fibrecity has recently announced a partnership with
Fujitsu, who will be supporting the national delivery of the fibre
optic network.
For more information, please visit www.fibrecity.eu
For further information, please contact:
Pippa Davies
Insight Marketing & Communications
Tel: 01625 500800
i3@insightmkt.com
About i3 Group
Together i3 Group companies make building a fibre optic
infrastructure achievable and affordable: delivering unprecedented,
unlimited bandwidth to connect consumers, businesses and
governments with the next generation of Internet services.