UK telecom groups rue delay in rollout of broadband services

London: After four years, legal threats and a stream of consultation, the government is still fighting to bring superfast mobile broadband services to the UK.

At the end of last week, the telecommunications industry responded to the latest consultation into how Ofcom, the regulator, proposes to auction the spectrum capable of carrying next-generation 4G services.

There was still no agreement about how the process should work. Several of the key telecoms groups have warned in private that they cannot rule out the possibility of legal action.

This would leave the UK trailing behind countries in Europe, Asia and North America, many of which are already rolling out 4G services.

Kip Meek, a former government adviser and spectrum consultant who now works for Everything Everywhere, the UK mobile network operator, says: "We are lagging behind the US and many other parts of Europe, whereas the UK used to be leading the world."

Blow to the government

Further delays would be a blow to the government, which has vowed to accelerate the spread of superfast broadband as part of wider efforts to promote digital technology and services as a source of growth.

According to the World Economy Forum last week, a 10 per cent increase in mobile broadband could yield an increase of between 1 and 1.8 per cent of gross domestic product, with forecasts that by 2016 more than four-fifths of broadband connections will be mobile.

The speed of internet connection using 4G networks is almost six times faster than existing 3G services, enabling mobile entertainment, such as gaming and video, without delays. The auction could also raise billions of pounds for the Treasury, although much less than the £22 billion (Dh128.14 billion) committed for the 3G licences.

Industry experts point to double-digit increases in mobile data consumption over the past few years as evidence of surging demand for ever-faster services. This is expected to accelerate further as more people adopt smartphones and tablet devices.

— Financial Times