YP Letters: How competition killed off national broadband

From: Roger Backhouse, Orchard Road, Upper Poppleton, York.
Rural broadband remains a source of consternation.Rural broadband remains a source of consternation.
Rural broadband remains a source of consternation.

GREAT news that landowners have agreed moves to support broadband connectivity but concerning that this depends on Government commitments to end the rural-urban broadband divide.

Will these be forthcoming?

British rural broadband is well behind most other western countries – yet it could have all been so different.

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Back in 1990, BT was set to install optical fibre lines across the country.

Unfortunately, in 1991, John Major’s government, possibly lobbied by American cable companies, decided to open the market to competition.

BT’s roll-out of fibre optics was thought to be “unfair” to those potential competitors so their plans were halted and not resumed. Most competitors did not develop alternatives so little fibre optic cable was laid then.

Hence countries like Latvia and South Korea now have entire fibre optic networks but Great Britain doesn’t. The Americans made much the same mistake and they, too, have major gaps across much of their nation.

John Major’s government was doubtless well intentioned, but oh what a telecomms disaster they left. And a true national fibre optic system could still be years away.