News - Gordon Brown wants 100% super-fast broadband access by 2020

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In a speech today, the PM said the UK?s future prosperity depends on the success of Digital Britain.

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Read more.

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What has the 'PM' been smoking? I'd really love to try it.. Or is there a double standard for that, too?

...and how are people to access their 'Super fast broadband'? Will the government also supply PCs for every home? And training on how to use it? What about how to secure it?

Sounds like a massive waste of time and money to me.

"Superfast broadband is the electricity of the digital age," said Brown.

So what's the electricity then that's powering all of this required infrastructure hardware ?, the 'Steam' of the digital age ?.

Brown realy is a tool, just spouting out marketing department claptrap.

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Originally Posted by b0redom

...and how are people to access their 'Super fast broadband'? Will the government also supply PCs for every home? And training on how to use it? What about how to secure it?

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The vast majority of homes now have PCs or other internet capable devices, there's no need to worry there. Training is already provided by the ISP, no need for the govt. to step in there.

I don't agree it's a waste of time and money, but I do think it's going to be quite hard to achieve, but without govt. support I think it would be impossible to achieve.

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Originally Posted by Fatboy40

"Superfast broadband is the electricity of the digital age," said Brown.

So what's the electricity then that's powering all of this required infrastructure hardware ?, the 'Steam' of the digital age ?.

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It's a metaphor, and a relatively appropriate one. :rolleyes:

Again i see the tax payer paying extra for services not needed for the people on benefits etc, i know loads of low lifes on benefits albeit there are good people on benfits too that would benefit from this but i feel they are few in many to be wasting our cash on this.

BB now is fast enough, i dont see the point unless you a business :P. Get good upload speeds and that then you good, i dont see why the gov should do this as it should be a premium like 10mb vs 20mb is now.

Although i know my view isnt counted in this 'democracy' so i will embrace any improvements to the BB i use so much today :).

Haha, Going after the Geek vote now is he...still wont get me to vote for him.

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Originally Posted by kalniel

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Originally Posted by Fatboy40

"Superfast broadband is the electricity of the digital age," said Brown.

So what's the electricity then that's powering all of this required infrastructure hardware ?, the 'Steam' of the digital age ?.

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It's a metaphor, and a relatively appropriate one. :rolleyes:

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Indeed, especially seeing as steam is used to generate most of our electricity.

So all those years in government never forcing BT to open up its ducts, suddenly broadband is popular vote winning.

Shame they also passed a bill letting anyone have their superfast broadband suspended with any legal due cause.

Brown's probably right as regards the importance of an upgraded communications infrastructure; how achievable the goal is is another matter, but compared to the laissez-faire-ism of Cameron (the market will provide and let's fillet the license fee to make up for it when it doesn't), it's somewhat more likely to make some progress. I'm with kalniel on this; the market has had decades to provide the infrastructure required, and hasn't done it. Part of that isn't their fault (I'm old enough to remember that BT offered to roll fibre out to the whole country on condition that they be allowed to provide services and content on it - and it was the Thatcher government that put the kybosh on that), but the fact remains that the sort of infrastructure investment required is not going to be put up by any of the existing telecoms players. Hell, the only players who have been rolling out their own infrastructures have either been eaten or pared investment to the bone; case in point - our telco at work used to be Norweb Telecom, who spent a shedload rolling out their own SDH infrastructure to the North West. Became Your Communications, eaten by Thus, in turn eaten by C&W.

edit: TA - it was this government, via Ofcom, that pushed through LLU in the face of howled objections from BT, so they haven't been completely inactive.

I'm sorry but this is a joke. People do not need 50Mbps just to do chuffing e-petitions and all the other crap that they vision it for. Not everyone wants broadband at all and not everyone needs it let alone "super-fast" broadband.

While I will personally welcome it when (or should I say if knowing this lot) I get it, they need to get clued in to reality instead of plucking "100%" out of their arses just for votes.

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Originally Posted by ilh

I'm sorry but this is a joke. People do not need 50Mbps just to do chuffing e-petitions and all the other crap that they vision it for. Not everyone wants broadband at all and not everyone needs it let alone "super-fast" broadband.

While I will personally welcome it when (or should I say if knowing this lot) I get it, they need to get clued in to reality instead of plucking "100%" out of their arses just for votes.

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They're essentially setting up a next-generation broadcast medium. DVB will be switched off by 2020 if this goes ahead, there'd be no point in it's existence any more. The government will have provided a more powerful, cheaper and more interactive standard medium to broadcast from :drool: All that would be needed is a new type of STB to take advantage of the connection speeds.

Agreed. I suspect VOIP would replace voice calls, with video an option, TV over broadband, and all sorts of other digital content that just isn't worth worrying about these days because it's impossible.

It's all very well for Brown to spout off about what he wants in 10 years time but I'm sure what he really wants is to still be in power in 10 weeks time .... and I wouldn't put money on even that happening.

Meantime, all this is is merely vague electioneering claptrap.

I'm concerned by what Gordie considers to be super fast broadband. Our speeds are embarrassingly bad when compared to the likes of Japan and Korea. I have the really bad feeling he hopes to achieve what they have now by 2020 leaving us 10 years behind them.

WRT what use this super fast broadband will have, as others have said it will become the multimedia/ communications hub of the home. Your TV could be piped in 3D High Def down the line with a network allocation of space to use for storage giving you your own personal tivo which you could watch anywhere.

We may actually be able to have proper video phone calls at home without having to worry about whether someone else in the house is trying to watch youtube or game or even browse the net.

A better more practical and beneficial use is medical examinations via teleconferencing. This already happens in Japan for those who don't live near or can't easily get to a doctor. It's a major step up from our current situation where gp's diagnose/ prescribe over the phone without even seeing the patient.

Needless to say we needn't worry too much about this as the ISP's will no doubt make use of download caps and traffic management giving us dial up speeds if you dare to watch youtube HD video.

By 2020 ? as soon as that ? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: