The Labor Party promised to offer free fiber-optic broadband to all Britons when it won the parliamentary elections.
He also pledged to nationalize Openreach, BT's broadband infrastructure division, which would be placed under the control of a new entity called "British Broadband", which would then embark on a nationwide infrastructure rollout. whole fibers
The party claims that the current model has been neglected by the current model in terms of coverage and speed, and that their plans would lead to significant social and economic gains.
Broadband commitment to work
British Broadband would aim to cover between 14 and 18 million locations in five years and eventually reach 92% coverage. It would then act to cover the rest of the properties by obtaining the necessary access rights.
"A new public service that offers the fastest, free and fastest broadband service for all is at the core of Labor's plans to transform the future of our economy and society," said union leader Jeremy Corbyn. "The Internet has become a central part of our lives. This opens up opportunities for work, creativity, entertainment, and friendship. What was once a luxury is now an essential utility.
Labor policy also seems to suggest that BT Consumer and BT Enterprise would also be publicly owned, but not EE, BT TV, BT Global Services (BTGS) and other units that are not broadband specific.
The workforce claims to have cost € 15.3 billion to roll out its fiber, getting the cost of making Openreach public property by exchanging shares for state bonds. It also estimates that operating a fiber optic network would cost € 230 million a year. All this would be paid for with a new tax on multinationals such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.
However, the plan does not detail the level of investment that would be made available to R&D, nor does it analyze the impact that such measures could have on third parties. The workforce promised that all workers in broadband infrastructure and retail services would be guaranteed jobs with at least the same salary, but it is unclear how that will be achieved.
In the UK, the total fiber optic coverage is 10%, much less than in countries like Japan and South Korea, but this figure has also increased dramatically in recent years, Openreach is involved in a major fiber deployment.
So far, Openreach has connected 1,8 million properties to the network, half of which have been added in the past 12 months, and is targeting 15 million by the mid-2020s. It expanded earlier this year .
The government's current goal of extinguishing the UK copper grid is 2033, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants this to be postponed to 2025.
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The government believes that up to 80% of the country will be covered by commercial deployments from BT and others, and has pledged € 5 billion in funding to help deployments in rural areas. Some estimated £ 30 billion in the total cost of extending coverage nationwide, including in rural areas. That's twice what the job says.
"It should be a major political priority to overlap the deployment of fiber-based broadband and 5G across the UK so that we can build the digital economy of the future," said a spokesperson. BT. "Whatever the outcome of the elections, we encourage the next administration to work with all sectors of the industry to achieve this goal. It is a national mission that exceeds the size of any business."
Other companies like Virgin Media, TalkTalk and CityFibre also invest in fiber to the home (FFTP). The creation of a state monopoly on infrastructure and free broadband service would put them on the sidelines. It is also unclear if compensation would be available and if the jobs lost as a result of this plan would be covered by the union's promise of employment.
"It's a bad decision by the Labor Party," said Matthew Howett, Assembly Research founder and principal analyst. "Nearly cutthroat competition between broadband competitors has resulted in faster speeds, improved coverage, and lower prices for consumers across the country.
"The current government, and its independent regulator, Ofocm, have spent the last three years encouraging alternative operators in BT to implement faster fiber technologies. Companies like Virgin, CityFibre and others have committed billions of dollars to compete with Openreach These plans may be suspended overnight.
"It is the only country in the world that follows that path, and it is difficult, expensive and full of difficulties." The Australian NBN is years behind, over budget, and has speed and technology well below the original policy intent. "