UK: would the Government mandate for “2Mbps broadband for all” be better served by an improved 3G/4G wireless infrastructure?
By Ben Robinson on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 2:33 PM PST In Ideas and rants, Mobile Broadband, UK News
Not so very long ago in the news, there was a story about a mandate laid down by the Government that within 5 or so years, everyone should have access to the InterWeb, at a speed of 2Mbps or more. The medium of connection for that statement was not defined, but of course there could be a range of options – (x)DSL, Cable, FTTH, Mobile, WiMax – the list goes on.
However, in the last 24 months, the runaway success has been Mobile broadband – plug a self-installing USB dongle in your PC, and off you go – InterWeb access straight away! So I pose this question – would the Government’s mandate best be served, in large part, by USB dongles on current/next-gen networks?
I’m not of course suggesting that we just dump tens of millions of extra users on to existing networks, but, instead a multipoint plan revolving around:
• Government investment strongly in to the Mobile Operator Networks
• Government definition of requirements of Operators to share mobile mast sites
• Government subsidy of USB dongles for those disadvantaged
• Government definition of clear wireless networking strategy
It’s a snap for mobile broadband dongle vendors to include multi-mode radio in to their devices, and with increased coverage, we could get a roaming super-network, overlaid with a couple of generations of radio access technology – ultimately providing very good coverage for anyone with a need to access the InterWeb.
I’ve a feeling the Government might stay technology-agnostic, and just lay down more general plans about the % of people that should have access in 5-10 years’ time, but in fact, at this point, due to the dramatically slow speeds of things like the (widely-deployed) xDSL, it is the time to get directly in the technology definition path. Take a hold of things, define how they ought to work, and make the Mobile Operators play nice together. InterWeb access is becoming a utility, and without strong leadership in this area, the disadvantaged will end up with differential access to another key commodity of the future.
Mobile Broadband is a very good technology but there are some faults with it that make it a potentially less desirable choice for the USO. Firstly the capacity is extremely expensive, UK operators are only offering the services so cheaply because they couldn’t find any better applications for it. Never the less this setup would face challenges from the weight of a 2Mbps USO.
Secondly, while many services claim to be capable of speeds up to 7.2Mbps+, real-world performance of 1Mbps is more the norm. High latency, which prevents multiplayer gaming, and connection stability are also other serious issues that need to be overcome FIRST.
However a bigger problem is that many Mobile Broadband operators deliberately block popular Internet applications, such as MSN Instant Messaging and VoIP, among others. It’s obvious why they do this but should they be allowed to continue with the onus of a USO hanging over them? I think not. Otherwise you’re just supplying a woefully limited Internet service to people without a choice.