Ofcom outlines future for high-speed broadband

Ofcom has begun a consultation looking into possible methods of delivering high-speed broadband to UK consumers.

The watchdog will examine how existing infrastructure such as underground pipes, sewers and underground ducts could be used to upgrade the broadband network.

New fibre optic cables are needed to cope with surging demand for high bandwidth services such as the kind of on-demand video content provided by the BBC's iPlayer.

In Britain alone, online video sites have seen a 178 per cent increase in the number of visitors in the past 12 months, according to online monitors Hitwise.

Larry Irving, co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance, a US industry group lobbying for investment in the web's network, recently warned that this trend could bring the internet to a grinding halt.

He told the Telegraph: "Our streets in cities like London or New York were designed for a certain amount of traffic.

"There are times of the day when you can get around and times when there is congestion. London does not shut down, it carries on, but everything slows down."