London, UK (CWBN)_ The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMSC ) of the British Parliament has warned in its final report of its inquiry into local broadband infrastructure, that the government is “likely to miss” its nationwide broadband and 5G objectives due to be implemented by 2025.
In October, the government announced its five year plan to provide 100 percent of the UK with ultrafast gigabit connections, largely involving fibre lines, however, the targets have been scaled down to 85 percent in late November, after it was realized that only a quarter of the promised GBP 5 billion would allocated for the project.
“It is difficult to see how £5bn will be enough to meet the government’s aim [and] it is therefore disappointing that over the next four years, the government will make available only 25% of the £5bn it had committed,”
The DCMSC maintains that despite the reduction of funding, “lack of effective planning” would likely derail the government’s execution of the project, and that it recommends stronger management.
“It would not be acceptable having abandoned one unrealistic target, for the government to fail to meet a second, less ambitious, target through lack of effective planning or inadequate investment.” the report said. “Continued growth in the rollout of full-fibre broadband is much-needed, as a recent Ofcom report revealed only 18% of the UK can access full-fibre services.
The report added that, “It would not be acceptable having abandoned one unrealistic target, for the government to fail to meet a second, less ambitious, target through lack of effective planning or inadequate investment.”
Should the UK fail to meet the respective targets, it has also been noted that the country would languish behind in terms of connectivity development from a global perspective.
