Businesses can benefit from faster broadband

A growing consensus among political parties that Britain needs faster broadband will benefit businesses, according to a network specialist.

The Conservatives recently promised to make 100 Mb broadband available around the country by 2017 if they are elected.

It came after a similar pledge by business secretary Lord Mandelson, after last year’s Digital Britain report, to provide ’super-fast’ broadband to 90 per cent of the country.

Nigel Hawthorn, vice president [of] marketing for Blue Coat Systems, a network management company, said that, although speed expectations among users can be unrealistic, there are advantages to fast services.

He commented: “All sectors can benefit from this level of bandwidth. Businesses can benefit from easier communication and users benefit from new services so far not even available.”

When the Conservatives announced their proposals, they pointed out that countries such as South Korea and Singapore were ahead of the UK in terms of internet speeds.

They also said that, as part of their plans for communications, they will force BT to open up its infrastructure to allow other companies to use it for installing cables.

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