OECD: UK lags in super fast broadband connectivity

Even as the UK wants to make broadband Internet connection available all over the country, British consumers are lagging behind when it comes to access to the next generation super fast broadband connectivity.

The latest data released by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has placed the UK at number 21 out of 30 countries in terms of broadband speed. The UK ranking is below Greece, France, Portugal and Spain.

The report also underscores the importance of governments investing in fibre networks saying that countries that invest in the technology are more likely to benefit in terms of economic developments in other areas.

The OECD report only placed the UK at number 13 in terms of overall broadband penetration with the majority of UK subscribers still accessing broadband through a Digital Subscriber Line or DSL, rather than via fibre.

Records from the OECD show that one in every 10 subscribers covered by the organisation has Internet access via fibre technology.

Japan and Korea lead the number of subscribers with fibre broadband. Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the U.S. are also making significant strides in the area, the report added.

This was helped by many governments subsidising the rollout of new broadband networks, the report said and added that such subsidies are justified as other sectors of the economy benefits from fast broadband access, particularly in the areas of electricity, health, education and transportation, four key areas in economic development.

Taylor Reynolds of the technology division of the OECD said, “If you cut 1% off the costs of education, electricity, health and transport you would more than pay for a fibre network. That is the type of thinking required by countries considering rolling out next-generation networks.”

The UK government is targeting to rollout super fast broadband connectivity to reach 90 percent of the country by the end of 2017. Currently, an estimated 18 million Brits have access to broadband connection.

The project was awarded to BT and Virgin Media. BT plans to offer a mixture of fibre technologies to around 40% of the country while Virgin Media has made cable broadband – capable of speeds of around 50Mbps – available to half of UK homes.

You can get more on the 50MBps broadband service on the Virgin website, including details on getting it free for 2 months.

BT are aso offering some great Broadband packages, including Broadband, calls and TV – get BT Vision with a Value Pack online and you’ll get a Vision+ box free, save £45.