UK digital future

[coldpookie]

Seems the goverment are looking to improve our digital communication/entertainment, by charging an extra 50p per month.

"It is a contribution which we are asking people to make - it's six pounds a year - offset, as we make very clear in the report, by the likely continued reduction in headline prices because of the competitive market we have in this country,"

Sounds like a good idea, however if they think we live in a competitive market, they should try living with KCOM in Hull.    (cheap shot, I know)

Cheers all

[Sean]

All this talk about making sure everybody can have lines that support up to XXmbps, but no talk of actual throughput?

It's ok for us, for example, in Hull paying 50p a month to support fibre optics to remote areas, who may then get 50mbps, but Karoo could still packet shape to below 1mbps

[dylan]

I imagine this 50p per month will be added to BT lines to upgrade the underlying infrastructure that BT Openreach operates throughout most of the country.

I wonder if they even considered Hull?

Dyls

[Sean]

A quick look at the report suggests:

That about 50% of the country have choice between cable and BT lines, the other 50% just BT lines.  We in Hull are 0%, nothing, which is probably just about right considering Ofcom's ignorance of our existence.

Also prices have come down a lot with BT lines so its only fair to tax us 50p (KC Talk 1 line rental more than old line rental, +£1 for message minder, +£1 for caller display, +£s for changing the peak periods/weekends, +£10 karoo now want to guarantee I can watch a 750kbps iPlayer stream - my phone/internet bill is a lot more now than it ever was).

The 50p tax is going to a fund to support the "final third" - those areas which cost a lot of money to install FTTC or FTTH (the theory is to cover 66% of the population, it costs about £400 per premises for FTTC, or about £2000 for FTTH, but to cover 100% those costs rocket and therefore a fund is required because commercially no company would bother).

If us customers are part funding this, and if in 10 years this is such a great success the telco's are making millions again, do we get lower prices for our investment?  Don't be daft.

[stormy]

I hope we wont be expected to contribute  to this tax seen as we will never see any benefit from it.

I can see KC charging it and using it to line their coffers.

Hull/KCOM doesn't get a mention in the report although Yorkshire is mentioned

'The £100m Yorkshire Digital Region programme approved in Budget 2009 will also provide a useful regional testbed for next generation digital networks.'

I assume thats not in our part of 'Yorkshire'.

[The Snowman]

I can see KC charging it and using it to line their coffers.

I wouldn't put it past them.