BT has complained to the communications regulator Ofcom over plans to roll out a high speed fibre connections network. The crux of the issue is the Universal Service Obligation or USO. This USO regulation ensures that BT must supply phone lines to all areas of the UK whilst giving discounts to low income households and keeping the public phone network operable. BT want to waiver this regulation, especially considering the billions of pounds it will cost them to upgrade the nation’s network to high speed fibre optics.
The reason there is so much demand for an upgrade to the network is due to the increase in use of bandwidth hungry services such as iPlayer video streaming. It has been reported that if the demands of the USO were relaxed like the necessity of keeping the existing copper network in good working order, BT would happily foot the bill for an upgrade. At an estimated cost of ten billion pounds finding the finances for the project elsewhere would prove difficult, so far only BT have been forthcoming with the funding.
Ideally however the costs for the high speed network would be shared by other telecom providers as well as BT. The argument is that currently there is no semblance of fairness in the USO situation. With so many other telecom providers, why should it only be BT that has to keep to the regulations of the USO? Fundamentally BT will not spend huge amounts on a network that will effectively lose money for their shareholders, anyone with a sense of business acumen will realise this.
What is certain is that a solution to the upgrading of the network must be found. After calls last week from internet service providers that BBC should put up the finances for the upgrade only serve to highlight the issue. Assuredly the UK needs an upgrade to a network that is rapidly becoming outdated; the arguments over who will foot the bill will undoubtedly continue.
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