Broadband upgrade may need "mix of investment"

A "mix of investment" may be required to provide the UK with super-fast broadband, a member of Ofcom's Consumer Panel has suggested.

Roger Darlington, speaking at the Westminster eForum seminar on next-generation broadband, suggested that private investors may be reluctant to put money into projects where no viable business plan exists.

He explained that this inertia on the part of some of the major telecommunications companies has caused a large number of local authorities, regional development agencies and community organisations to create local initiatives on the technology.

In a few years, Mr Darlington believes, many in the industry will wonder why they were so cautious about investing, but warned this did not mean that they should "throw money at the problem".

"If you clarify the regulatory environment and look at all the political factors that would encourage the private sector to invest as much as possible, but also what a mix of investment involves," he concluded.

With super-fast broadband many more businesses in the UK would be able to benefit from the cost-saving aspects of VoIP solutions.