Ofcom Chief Warns About Overloaded Mobile Networks

Speaking at the Royal Welsh Show Ofcom chief Ed Richards warned that UK Mobile networks are reaching full capacity. He said that those in rural Wales are likely to suffer if the demand for mobile broadband and internet enabled smart phones continues to rise.



The rise in mobile broadband has overtaken all estimates in the years since it was introduced and now the popularity of smart phones is likely to add to the problems of the already oversubscribed networks. Only a small part of the digital spectrum is currently allocated to mobile broadband. This has left networks struggling to provide the bandwidth to support their customers needs.

“UK users are now seeing the beginnings of a capacity pinch, as data-enabled smartphones and dongles chew through media-rich websites and process more background traffic. But while demand is booming – mobile data usage has grown by more than 1,800% in the UK in the past two years – the frequencies, or spectrum, upon which it and so many other similar services are carried have not.
The laws of physics prevent us from inventing or acquiring new spectrum, but we can release spectrum used for other services.”

The statement by Richards follows the news that the Government's Digital Britain plan has been delayed by three years. The original plan was to provide "broadband for all" by 2012 but the data has been revised following cuts in funding. Richards feels that a larger section of the spectrum needs to be allocated to broadband.

“The switch to all-digital television, completed first here in Wales in March, has freed up some hugely important spectrum that could be used to increase the availability of very fast mobile broadband throughout Wales,” he said. I am absolutely clear that we need to get on and release this, something Ofcom has tried to do in the teeth of fierce resistance from existing mobile operators.

For consumers everywhere, the risk is of a slowing of innovation, and a possible reversal of the downward price pressure. And for users in rural Wales it could mean fewer options for solving their connectivity problems.”

Labour Details Broadband Plan

Yesterday Labour released their 2010 Manifesto in anticipation of the forthcoming election. With the election on the horizon the main political parties all seem hesitant to use the 't' word. Considering the unpopular nature of Labour's proposed 'Broadband Tax' I was interested in seeing if this was mentioned at all.

The Tax is to return should Labour win the election with 50p per month being charged to all homes with landline connections. This is needed, Labour says, in order to cover the cost of providing broadband for all. The Manifesto (PDF link) states that:

Britain must be a world leader in the development of broadband. We are investing in the most ambitious plan of any industrialised country to ensure a digital Britain for all, extending access to every home and business. We will reach the long-term vision of superfast broadband for all through a public-private partnership in three stages:

* first, giving virtually every household in the country a broadband service of at least two megabits per second [2Mbps] by 2012;

* second, making possible superfast broadband for the vast majority of Britain in partnership with private operators, with Government investing over £1 billion in the next seven years;

* and lastly reaching the final ten per cent using satellites and mobile broadband.

The proposed tax would generate £175m per year to improve the coverage and infrastructure of the current broadband system. The 10% of people who live in areas which cannot be reached by normal broadband will be able to connect using mobile broadband. The problem with this theory is that, whilst mobile broadband coverage has improved a great deal, the areas which are not covered are likely to be the remote rural areas which are also not covered by normal broadband.

PM Pledges to Provide Fast Broadband for all by 2020

Gordon Brown is expected to make an announcement on Wednesday in which he will promise to provide high speed broadband for every house in the country by 2020. The PM is expected to equate broadband with "the electricity of the digital age" and suggest that speeds of over 50mb are to be provided for all.

The idea of 'broadband for all' is not a new one, the Government's Digital Britain Report was published in June 2009 and recommended providing high speeds for all. As I wrote back in July "They believe that broadband is essential for everyone from school children to big business in order to strengthen the economy and reduce poverty. Children from homes without an internet connection tend to get, on average, lower grades. Businesses need fast connections in order to compete with the global market."



If Labour win the next election they plan to create a 'broadband tax' in order to raise money to improve the country's broadband infrastructure. The tax, which has be opposed by the Tories, will take the form of a 50p per month levy on landlines. The PM expects this tax to raise between £175m and £200m per year. Given the easy availability of contract SIMs this could be yet another nail in the coffin of fixed line services.

The Government also plans to move public services online giving each person in the UK a personal webpage from which they will apply for Passports, submit tax claims and claim housing benefit etc. This plan would save the government millions of pounds although it would also result in lost jobs and potential lack of data security.

"Faster broadband speeds will bring new, cheaper, more personalised and more effective public services to people. It will bring games and entertainment options with new levels of sophistication. So one vision for Digital Britain would create two nations: one digitally privileged, one digitally deprived. And this will mean a massive penalty in economic development to those who are denied access because of a failure of government to rise to the challenge where markets fail. The alternative is our vision: ensuring, not simply hoping for, universal coverage."
Gordon Brown

It is not yet clear how Mr Brown intends to provide 'broadband for all'. Previous plans have included expanding mobile broadband coverage to include deprived rural areas, given the speeds expected to be promised mobile broadband alone would not be enough.

Anti Piracy Laws May be Hard to Enforce for Those Using Mobile Broadband

Shortly after dinning with music industry big shot David Geffen on his yacht this summer Peter Mandelson suddenly announced plans to crack down on illegal online file sharing. Mandelson plans to criminalise vast swathes of the population and 'throw them off the internet' if they are caught sharing copyrighted material.

Many have suggested that the proposed law is flawed in many ways and seems to contradict the Government's 'Digital Britain' plans. Treasury secretary Stephen Timms claims that the main ISPs are "pretty supportive of where we have now reached" although Talk Talk and BT disagree. There have also been questions raised about the likely cost of the plans and how exactly they will be funded.

Mobile Broadband operators have expressed their concern at the proposed new law and suggested that tracking those who illegally download via a mobile connection may be problematic.

"[ISPs] are not allocating one IP address per customer. They can't backtrack, as things stand, to identify the customer. They would be required to build the databases that would be able to do that mapping, and that would be very costly."

Mobile Broadband Group chief Hamish MacLeod

The databases required would cost the industry around £35m at a time when they are looking to expand coverage and increase speeds. The industry is unsurprisingly not eager to shoulder this cost especially those who specialise in mobile broadband. As mobile broadband download limits can be lower than with fixed line broadband, mobile users are not thought to download as much copyrighted data.

TalkTalk Criticize Broadband Tax Plans

The Government 's plans to introduce a broadband tax in order to cover the cost of providing 'broadband for all' has been criticized by telecoms company TalkTalk. The planned tax, announced as part of the Digital Britain report, would cost users around £0.50 per month and is likely to be leveled at those receiving fixed line broadband.

TalkTalk's chief executive Charles Dunstone (who seems to enjoy being provocative) has said that the £6 per year tax could force low-income households to give up their internet connections:

"This is an unjust and regressive tax on all phone customers which will subsidise mostly richer rural households that can afford high priced super fast broadband services. As well as being unfair we estimate that the increase in price will mean that over 100,000 mostly low income homes will be forced to give up their broadband lines. This is wholly inconsistent with the government's plans to tackle digital exclusion."

Whilst it is admirable to defend those who are on low incomes who stand to gain from having a broadband connection, the figures just don't add up. An extra 50p per month is unlikely to dissuade people from getting connected. Cheaper alternative such as pay as you go mobile broadband are available and the benefits of an internet connection are hard to ignore.



Only 10% of people polled by Ofcom this summer intended to cut back on broadband costs. With the money people are able to save by shopping online a broadband connection could pay for itself.

BT have previously suggested that the tax be paid by those who own a mobile phone in order to spread the cost. The Conservatives have opposed broadband taxation so the outcome of the general election might decide the fate of the tax.

Prince Charles Concerned by 'Broadband Deserts'

The Prince of Wales writing in The Telegraph has expressed his concern at the lack of mobile broadband coverage in rural Britain. Charles, who set up the Rural Action Programme following the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001, believes that rural areas need high speed broadband in order to prosper.

"...there is no doubt that our countryside remains in crisis and we have to continue to find new ways to help. The provision of services – without which no community can survive, let alone flourish – must be central to our efforts. And it has become clear that one of those services – the lack of access to high speed broadband – is putting many of those who work in rural communities at a severe disadvantage."

Mobile broadband has been suggested as the solution to the problem of limited fixed line broadband penetration in rural areas. The Government's aim of 'Broadband for all by 2012' as part of the Digital Britain Report is reliant on increasing mobile broadband coverage. Currently about 2 million people in rural areas are not able to receive broadband of 2mbps or above.

The Prince said that access to broadband would help to support businesses, schools individuals in rural areas. He describes "broadband deserts" where no signal is available and warned that without broadband more farmers would have to abandon their livelihoods.

Broadband Tax To Be Law By Next Election

The minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms has said that the new broadband tax will be law by the time the election comes around. Speaking at a debate in London Mr Timms said that the tax is still a priority and will be 'presented to parliament as part of the Finance Bill'.

The proposed tax which aims to raise cash to improve the nations broadband infrastructure will cost those with fixed phone lines 50 pence per month. The idea for the broadband tax was proposed in the Digital Britain report in order to finance the government's plan to provide 'broadband for all' by 2012.

Those without a fixed line will not have to pay the tax another reason why mobile broadband is best when it comes to saving money if not for download speeds. Pay as you go mobile broadband users will be able to avoid the tax which may help to provide them with a fibre optic connection (eventually).

The tax has proved to be controversial with the Conservatives saying that they would oppose it. Some have said that broadband providers should foot the bill as they stand to profit from increased broadband coverage whilst others have questioned the ability of a 50p tax to pay for a fibre optic network.

Steve Weller of uSwitch.com says that the proposed tax is 'a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.'

"We are talking about a digitally dependent economy and society, and as such, the Government should be looking to share the burden across businesses and consumers alike."

Mandelson To Discuss Broadband Access with The Big Five

Lord Mandelson has announced plans to organize a meeting with the five main mobile broadband operators in the UK to discuss broadband access. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is possibly looking to speed up the spread of mobile broadband coverage to rural areas in order to meet the targets set out in the Digital Britain report.

Mandelson will meet with Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and 3 who between them provide pay as you go mobile broadband to 1 in 10 households in the UK.

The Government aims to provide 'broadband for all' by 2012 although if Mandelson has his way and those who illegally download music and films have their broadband connection taken away from them this could be a challenge. The proposed move would criminalise a large percentage of the population and would make 'broadband for all' impossible. Lord Mandalson recently decided that illegal downloading should be stopped days after meeting with David Geffen, founder of Asylum Records and DreamWorks although those events cannot be connected because that would mean that Mandelson was corrupt.

Mobile broadband Tax Plan May Be Scrapped

As previously mentioned the Government has been planning a broadband tax in order to raise money to help provide 'broadband for all' by 2012. The idea of a planned tax was first put forward in the Digital Britain report as money is needed to improve the broadband infrastructure including the provision of better quality mobile broadband services to rural areas.

The planned tax would be paid by all those with a broadband connection and would be around 50p per month. Some have criticized the plan as they do not feel that the public should be funding infrastructure improvements when it will be the broadband providers who will stand to profit in the long run. Others have said that the tax is unlikely to raise enough money to make a real difference.



Speaking to The Times the Communications Minister Stephen Timms said:

“If the question is, is the levy definitely going to be legislated for this side of the election, I can’t say for sure. Things that are contentious will have to be left until after the election”

The Conservatives have said that they are against the broadband tax so the outcome of the election could decide the future of the tax. The debate will no doubt continue in the meantime.

Can Mobile Broadband Help The Govenment Provide 'Broadband For All'?

The Government has pledged to provide 'broadband for all' by 2012 as part of the Digital Britain project. They believe that broadband is essential for everyone from school children to big business in order to strengthen the economy and reduce poverty. Children from homes without an internet connection tend to get, on average, lower grades. Businesses need fast connections in order to compete with the global market.

At the recent Broadband For All seminar Phil Sheppard, who is the Director of Technical Solutions at Three, said that he believes that Mobile Broadband can be used to get the country connected. He suggested that if Mobile Broadband providers were given access to more of the digital spectrum they would be able to create enough high-speed coverage to help the Government to reach their goal.

“Mobile Broadband tends to be capable and commercially capable of providing the 2Mbps broadband universal service commitment and is an extremely efficient way of doing it. It is very cost effective, it actually doesn’t need government funding, what it needs is access to spectrum, that’s the key”.

The allocation of empty areas of the spectrum (such as that which will be freed up by the switch from analogue television) is causing a lot of debate amongst mobile broadband companies. Hopefully the Government and the Digital Britain Group will take the bait and work with the providers to increase coverage and speed. Those in rural areas could benefit greatly if more of the digital spectrum is given over to Mobile Broadband.

BT Suggests that Mobile Phone Users Should Help to Spread the Cost of the Broadband Tax

In the Digital Britain report published last month Lord Carter who is the Communications Minister proposed a 50p per month tax on all fixed phone lines. The aim of the 'Broadband Tax' is to help cover the costs of providing high-speed broadband to the nations computers.

What is needed in order to improve our broadband infrastructure is nothing short of a complete overhaul. The current copper phone lines were not designed to transport large amounts of data at high speed, they were designed to handle voice calls. The problem is that there is some debate about who should be paying for the new system.



BT has suggested that in order to reduce the tax per customer more people should be taxed. Their solution is to place a tax on mobile phones as well. Some of the £1.5bn which is expected to be raised by the tax may be available to mobile operators as well as fixed line companies as they are both able to join the bidding process for a share of the funds.

BT's director of industry policy and regulation (snappy title!) Emma Gilthorpe has said "the government should consider the opportunity to widen the base for the tax and possibly reduce the amount that each individual household pays". The problem with this theory is that most households own a combination of a fixed line and several mobile phones so in the end the same people may be paying the same amount as they would with the standard fixed line tax.

Those without a fixed phone line, mobile broadband customers for instance, might end up paying towards the improvement of the infrastructure if BT's proposals are considered.

Offcom Confirms Aditional Spectrum Allocation for Mobile Broadband

The Office of Communications (Ofcom) has officially announced an additional spectrum allocation which has been cleared for mobile broadband. The 800Mhz band has been freed up by the shift from analogue to digital television.

Many European countries have cleared their 800Mhz spectrum in order to improve their mobile broadband infrastructure including Denmark, France, Switzerland and Germany. Originally the plan for the UK was to only clear a small section of the spectrum but Ofcom has since decided to clear the full band in order to match other countries allocations.



Once the digital switchover has taken place around the country the cleared areas of the spectrum will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Mobile broadband providers will be keen to take advantage of this in order to improve their services and offer their customers the best possible coverage. Having a large area of coverage and good download speeds is vital for mobile broadband companies and this reallocation should help them to improve.

Mobile broadband customers should be set to benefit from the increased area of the spectrum available to their providers. The Digital Britain Group aims to see 100% broadband coverage by the year 2012. With the increased spectrum now available this is becoming a more realistic aim.