Britain is ignoring true FTTH solutions which are available now without going through BT, according to a report from Anglo-Italian cable manufacturer and global supplier Tratos.

The Report – Britain’s Broken Broadband – presented to MPs – points out how Britain could solve its broadband connectivity and download speed problems now. Working around BT/Openreach, Tratos believes that broadband could ‘piggy-backing’ other utilities’ portals into the home – water, smart meters, electricity, gas.

Tratos is making the case for super-technology fibre-optic cables that will allow Britain’s broken broadband to start its recovery now.

Maurizio Bragagni, Tratos CEO said: “While BT owns the existing infrastructure, other options exist and there are technically advanced fibre optic cables that can travel efficiently through other utilities’ routes to homes and offices.

Gas, water and electricity are `into-the-home’ routes explored and exploited in other countries. With all utilities investing now in a smart grid to monitor resources flowing into homes, fibre optic rather than copper cable could be adopted – and broadband could effectively piggyback into a building.

Tratos believes that the Government needs to open up the race for the right solution as even investment now will still see Britain left lagging by up to seven years as it struggles to catch up. “Britain’s broadband is in danger of developing into a block on the country’s economy as alternative routes to high speed connectivity are ignored”, continued Bragagni.

Tratos Ltd points to some of the advanced technological solutions that are smart enough to bypass current network gatekeepers – and are available today.

In addition, the report states that:

• Fibre to the Home broadband doesn’t exist in the UK. There are the privileged and proactive few who currently enjoy the speeds that many of our worldwide counterparts are achieving but solutions are being ignored.
• British business is telling Government they can ‘no longer remain silent’ about patchy broadband and how their companies’ performance is being “severely affected.”
• Industry regulator Ofcom is concerned about a mismatch between broadband speeds that small firms believed they were buying and what is actually being delivered.
• Broadbad, a report backed by 121 cross-party MPs calls for BT to be forced to sell the country’s leading broadband provider, Openreach.
• According to the EEF, the manufacturers lobby group, more than two-thirds of members who responded said connectivity is not adequate to meet their needs for future growth. Some 50 per cent says costs of accessing Internet services have risen over the past two years.
• Technology has moved faster than anticipated and the UK remains reliant on its existing copper network as the way forward.
• Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) is not Fibre to the Home (FTTH); the fibre advantage isn’t making the last mile to premises – what we are sold is just a dream.
• Significant challenges – whether they are architectural, heritage, rural have been worked around – other countries have found ways around these problems.

The Anglo-Italian cable manufacturer presents a UK, European and global view of Britain’s position in this report and calls for urgent action to protect the country’s status as a leading economic power.

Tratos wants to be part of the UK’s solution, and suggests it is one of a number of smaller, more agile and innovation-focused competitors that could be instrumental in making the change. It says that with more than 20 years’ experience in the UK and Europe, it has the ‘smart’ fibre cables that it claims shoot down some of BT’s arguments on installation expense/disruption as copper gives way to fibre.

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Business, Equipment, Equipment, Funding, ISP, Markets, Policy, Regulation, Research, Telco