Hung parliament will nix NGA rollout

Dave Bailey, Computing, Thursday 26 November 2009 at 17:30:00

Party differences will leave investors in a quandry

The differences between the approaches of the Labour and Conservative parties
will have a significatn affect on the outcome of the next-generation access
rollout, the head of the Broadband Stakeholder Group said today.

The remarks were addressed to industry experts gathered for the Future of UK
Broadband debate held in Westminster.

Both major parties vying for power have significantly different approaches to
NGA rollouts, pointed out Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) chief executive
Antony Walker.

"We now have two quite different roadmaps for the future of broadband in the
UK. The incumbent Labour government has an industrial activism strategy
favouring a 'nuts and bolts' approach, and potentially investing directly in
network deployment," said Walker.

The Conservatives approach is just starting to emerge, said Walker. "I've
termed it a 'market activism' approach, and it's more focused on looking closer
at [private sector] market mechanisms, than direct government investment,"
added Walker.

The two different approaches create quite a bit of uncertainty said Walker.
"We'll have to live with it until the other side of the election," he added.

Although the Conservatives are expected to win the next election, the worst
scenario for NGA networks, would be a hung parliament, pointed out Walker.

"If there's a couple of years of political uncertainty, and no resolution of
the two different road maps, ISPs and investors may hold back on deployments,"
added Walker.

A general election will have to take place on or before Thursday 3 June 2010.

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2254052/hung-parliament-nix-nga-rollout