Digital Britain countdown begins

bealtine

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8093054.stm

The long-awaited Digital Britain report, which will lay out the UK government's strategy for broadband and digital content is due out later today.

It is widely expected to recommend a minimum speed for broadband, with a pledge to bring all households up to 2Mbps (megabits per second) by 2012.

It is likely to back the technologies by which this can be achieved.

It will also make recommendations on internet piracy and ways to safeguard copyright in the digital age.

The BBC has been told that Lord Carter - the author of the report - has estimated that there are some 1.7m homes that would need getting up to speed under the government's 2Mbps universal service commitment (USC).

Some think this is a conservative estimate. A study commissioned by the BBC suggested that some three million homes currently have speeds of 2Mbps or below.

Mobile solution?

Much of the full report will be dedicated to finding the solution and here the battle is on between mobile, satellite and traditional fixed line technologies.

The BBC has learned that the Digital Britain team has held frantic last minute talks with the UK mobile operators trying to sort out a deal which would see firms such as O2 and 3 contribute to the government's USC.

In return mobile operators are asking for changes in the way the radio spectrum is divvied up.

But some, including it seems Lord Carter himself, don't see mobile as the whole solution.

Satellite broadband firm Avanti's chief executive David Williams met with Lord Carter a few weeks ago to discuss the Hylas satellite which his company is due to launch at the end of the year.

"Lord Carter acknowledged to me that mobile cannot provide a substitute for fixed line. It is great for e-mail and browsing on the move but bad for data usage at home," he revealed.

Research from broadband communications firm Epitiro recently found that the average download speed achieved with mobile broadband was just under 1Mbps.

At 3am this average rose to 1.8Mbps, illustrating that contention issues - how many people are using the service at any given time - plays a big role in limiting speed.

Satellite could be a solution for some and costs are set to fall to as little as £15 a month.

Avanti's Hylas satellite would be able to provide 2Mbps broadband to 350,000 rural homes and if the go-ahead is given for the launch of two farther satellites that would increase the reach to two million.

BT will obviously play a big role in filling in the so-called notspots.

It is currently testing a new technology in Inverness, Scotland known as BET (Broadband Extention Technology).

It believes BET could solve one of ADSL's biggest problems - that speeds get slower the further away from the telephone exchange people live.

Anyone living more than four kilometres from a telephone exchange is unlikely to get speeds above 2Mbps. For those in rural areas or even in the suburbs this has been a huge frustration

BET has the potential to provide reasonable speeds on lines up to 17 kilometres away from the telephone exchange and could fill 90% of the UK's notspots, said a BT spokesman.

It will cost hundreds of pounds to upgrade each line though and it is unclear how much public money the Digital Britain report will put on the table.

Most think that some of money set aside for Digital Switchover - some £250m - could be earmarked to see the USC rolled out or even used to launch an education campaign to persuade the 30% of the UK population currently offline completely to change their minds.

Some critics have been disappointed that the interim report focused on 2Mbps broadband rather than looking to faster, next-generation solution.

"The widely expected two megabits per second universal service commitment, while a big improvement for those who have no affordable broadband service now, or a slow one cannot be expected to be relevant within three or four years," said Andrew Ferguson, editor of ThinkBroadband.

"We had hoped that the USC would be used as a way of kick starting next generation solutions in areas of the UK where commercial realities means firms are not likely to provide a service.

The report is likely to make mention of next-generation access, with a policy framework for how faster services can be rolled out and the setting up of an association to make sure community fibre schemes work together.

There is unlikely to be any public money available though.

Illegal content

The Digital Britain report will also look at new ways to pay for the digital content that more people are consuming and Lord Carter has hinted that content providers, including the BBC, could be asked to contribute to the costs.

Internet service providers are especially keen on the idea.

"Content owners like the BBC can't expect to continue to get a 'free ride'. They will need to make a fair contribution to the huge costs of bandwidth to deliver their iPlayer programmes," said a spokesman for BT Retail.

The Digital Britain report is also likely to address the issue of internet piracy.

The government has all but ruled out using three strikes law - which would offer a couple of chances for persistent net pirates to stop downloading illegal content before they were removed from the network.

The then-culture secretary Andy Burnham said at the beginning of the year that cutting people off was not the government's "preferred option".

Many agree. "It is a bit counter-productive to the rest of the Digital Britain report which is all about getting people online," said Roger Darlington, an adviser to Ofcom.

Of concern to many is how much the report will be taken onboard by any new government formed after a general election.

"All in all, dare one suggest that the Lord Carter report is an exercise in appeasing critics, but one where no-one will commit to spending real amounts of money to push the UK into the forefront of the digital content world," said Mr Ferguson.

"The feeling is that while the public is starting to say broadband is a utility, many with power are simply paying lip service," he added.

bealtine

bealtine wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8093054.stm

The long-awaited Digital Britain report, which will lay out the UK government's strategy for broadband and digital content is due out later today.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/15/bbc-television

includes gems such as :
January's interim report also included a promise to protect the UK's creative industries from online piracy. But Lord Carter has held back from demanding that persistent illegal file-sharers should have their internet access cut off. Instead, the UK's internet service providers will work with the content companies and send warning emails and then letters to people who are believed to be illegally sharing copyrighted material over the web.

Persistent illegal file-sharers will have their internet connections slowed down and may be barred from visiting certain sites under a system of "technical measures". It will be up to the content owners to take any subsequent legal action against pirates.

Exactly how the regime will work, what sort of technical measures will be introduced – and under what evidence – will be decided by a new body designed to bring the content companies and ISPs together.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6481851.ece

"insiders expect Lord Carter to recommend the introduction of premium-rate internet services that will allow users to access what they wish. Providers would then be expected to compensate music and film producers from a share of the additional revenue. "

Sponge Bob

Published , chaps 1 and 9 summarise it nicely

http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/exsumchpt9_digitalbritain-finalreport-jun09.pdf

To chaper 1 item 21

21.Availability of broadband has two components: the right network today and
the right network tomorrow. To ensure all can access and benefit from the
network of today, we confirm our intention to deliver the Universal Service
Broadband Commitment at 2Mbps by 2012. This can be delivered through
upgrades to the existing copper and wireless networks. We also propose public
support for the network of tomorrow so that consumers in the Final Third
who will not be reached by the market can enjoy next generation
broadband. This will be a longer project which involves what amounts to
installing a new network.

22. The Universal Service Commitment and the Next Generation Final Third project
are separate projects and need to be addressed in turn.

23. Firstly, the Universal Service Commitment. More than one in 10 households
today cannot enjoy a 2Mbps connection. We will correct this by providing
universal service by 2012. As such, the UK’s Commitment leads Europe. It has a
measure of future-proofing so that, as the market deploys next-generation
broadband, we do not immediately face another problem of exclusion. The USC
is also a necessary step if we are to move towards digital switchover in the
delivery of more and more of our public services.

24. The Universal Service Commitment will be delivered by a mix of technologies:
DSL, fibre to the street cabinet, wireless and possibly satellite infill. It will be
funded from £200m from direct public funding,2 enhanced by five other
sources: commercial gain through tender contract and design, contributions in
kind from private partners, contributions from other public sector organisations
in the nations and regions who benefit from the increased connectivity, the
consumer directly for in-home upgrading, and the value of wider coverage
obligations on mobile operators arising from the wider mobile spectrum
package. The Commitment will be delivered through the Network Design and
Procurement Group, with a CEO appointed in the Autumn. We will also discuss
with the BBC Trust the structure which gives them appropriate visibility in the
delivery process of the use being made of the Digital Switchover Help Scheme
underspend, which will be realised in full by 2012

It includes NGN/Reach Extension with some DSL repeaters deployed in series . This allows ADSL2 @ 10 miles .

26 Secondly, the Next Generation Final Third project. Next generation
broadband networks offer not just conventional high definition video
entertainment and games (which because of this country’s successful satellite
platform are less significant drivers here than in some other markets) but also
more revolutionary applications. These will include tele-presence, allowing for
much more flexible working patterns, e-healthcare in the home and for small
businesses the increasing benefits of access to cloud computing which
substantially cuts costs and allows much more rapid product and service
innovation. Next-generation broadband will enable innovation and economic
benefits we cannot today predict. First generation broadband provided a boost
to GDP of some 0.5%-1.0% a year.

27 In recent months the UK has seen an energetic, market-led roll-out of next
generation fixed broadband. By this Summer speeds of 50Mbps and above will
be available to all households covered by the Virgin Media Ltd’s national cable
network: some 50% of UK homes. Following decisions by the regulator, Ofcom,
which have enhanced regulatory certainty, BT Group plc has been encouraged
by the first year capital allowances measures in Budget 2009 and the need to
respond competitively to accelerate their plans for the mix of fibre to the
cabinet and fibre to the home. BT’s enhanced network will cover the first
1,000,000 homes in their network. The £100m Yorkshire Digital Region
programme approved in Budget 2009 will also provide a useful regional testbed
for next generation digital networks.

28 The Government believes that the case is made for the desirability of such
next generation networks being available to the large majority of the UK
population. It is also persuaded that the economics of network deployment,
whether fixed or next-generation mobile, mean that true superfast broadband
will be concentrated in the first two thirds of the market in the next decade,
leaving the ‘final third’ served only with current generation broadband. This
would be undesirable. Equally, any subsidy scheme has to be carefully targeted
to avoid distorting competition or subsidising activities which commercial
operators would otherwise undertake.

Let me clarify this . One third of Ireland will get 3g Diaup substitute by 2012

One third of Britain will be heading for NGN. They propose a Universal Levy on top of the £200m to build this network

30. The Government believes the fairest and most efficient means of ensuring
that the overwhelming majority of the country has access to next
generation broadband is to share some of that saving and create an
independent Next Generation Fund, based on a supplement of 50 pence per
month on all fixed copper lines. The Fund will be available on a tender basis
to any operator to deliver and will provide a part subsidy for the
deployment of next generation broadband to the ‘final third’ of homes and
small businesses, bringing the cost of the initial deployment to the same
level that operators face in the commercially economic parts of the market.

About 6.776 Strikes and you are out

46 Secondly, through encouraging suitable information and education initiatives,
to ensure that consumers are fully aware of what is and is not lawful. And
thirdly we aim to provide for a graduated response by rights-holders and ISPs
so that they can use the civil law to the full to deter the hard core of users who
wilfully continue unlawful activity. The Government intends to provide
initially for Ofcom to have a duty to secure a significant reduction in
unlawful file sharing by imposing two specific obligations: notification of
unlawful activity and, for repeat-infringers, a court-based process of
identity release and civil action. The Government is also providing for
intermediate technical measures by ISPs, such as bandwidth reduction or
protocol blocking, if the two main obligations have been reasonably tried
but, against expectations, shown not to have worked within a reasonable
but also reasonably brisk period.

At the end , page 23

In order to ensure the delivery of the Universal Service Commitment,
we will establish a delivery body – the Network Design and
Procurement Group – at arm’s length from central Government.
By the end of July

The Government intends to consult on the proposal for a general
supplement on all fixed copper lines for a Next Generation Fund.
By early Sept

Sponge Bob

Chapter 3 contains the kind of stuff that makes us cry in Ireland . These are the problems in the UK

http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/chpt3a_digitalbritain-finalreport-jun09.pdf

UK Broadband Availability
Our analysis of broadband availability is as follows:
We estimate that today c.89% of homes can readily get a 2Mbps (or higher) broadband service from cable, ADSL or wireless means.

This means that c.11%, or about 2.75m, homes cannot readily get a 2Mbps (or higher) broadband service today.

We believe the main reasons that prevent these 2.75m homes from getting a
2Mbps broadband service are:
●● Problematic home wiring (c.1.9m homes);
●● Random network effects (c.300k homes); and
●● Telephone line too long (c.550k homes).
Having considered what the potential solutions might be, our initial conclusions
are as follows:
●● Home wiring problems resolved by market/self help (c.800k homes);
●● Home wiring problems resolved under USC (c.1.1m homes);
●● Random network effects resolved by special investigation (c.100k homes);
●● Long telephone line resolved by FTTC upgrade (c.420k homes); and
●● Residual random network effects and long lines resolved by wireless/satellite
(c.330k homes).
The above figures are based on 100% take-up and can thus be scaled down

according to any take-up assumption.

Whereas in Ireland .

This means that c.11% cannot get ANY broadband service today.

We only decided that the Internet was "functional" at higher than 0k in 2006

watty

They also conclude that Mobile Data can't even provide 1Mbps (and they have less users per mast than us).

So our Government has the NBS (which leaves out about 10%) and uses Mobile as Universal Solution

Sponge Bob

The Mobile operators had been given a deadline to come up with proposals . They did not meet this deadline so the 'wireless' section is very thin while the spectrum section is fatter . I strongly suspect that discussions are ongoing in that area but that they released the report anyway .

Mobile 3G Data Coverage in Ireland is NOT Universal now nor will it be . Breathing alone makes this impossible anyway .

It is intended to cover 95% of the population in around 30% of the country by area . Elsewhere there is no plan to reach 95% of the population although some areas have that coverage despite there not being a plan .

Sponge Bob

Chapter 3 Contains some key comments on Mobile . Thankfully Eamon Ryan can bend the laws of physics and provide a better service than they would get in the UK .

The "fundamental limit set by the nature of 3G technology " in Britain has been defeated by the Greens .

88. reasons, if we eventually move to a phasing out of GSM networks
in favour of the next generation, we might face the end of universal mobile
coverage in the UK. There are strong public policy arguments for wishing to
preserve very extensive coverage.

This is the 900mhz 3g argument . It applies even more here . The cell breathing / contention issue is described thus

89. Already the limitations of the 3G technology are becoming clear. The 3G HSDPA upgrade provides a huge boost in bandwidth but it does not do this uniformly across the service area. Typically 10% of users (close to a base station) can achieve 75% of the peak data speeds (or better) but 50% of users (on the outer rim of radio cells) can only achieve 25% of the peak data speed (or less).

This is a fundamental limit set by the nature of 3G technology and the availability of 5 MHz wide radio channels. The next revolution will be a technology that is able to achieve greater resilience at the edge of radio cells and work in much wider radio channels. The most likely such technology for national networks across Europe will be the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. It can deliver a headline speed of 50 Mb/s in a 2x10 MHz wide channel. Other technologies may emerge over dense urban areas, such as WiMAX, to serve particular customer segments.

watty

Funny, I've been pointing out this problem for nearly 4 years.

GSM to 3G is actually a downgrade.

EDGE2 on GSM can actually provide x2 spectrum efficency and almost 3 capacity when there are 10 to 20 Users on a sector with 5MHz capacity (GSM carriers are 200kHz each, but EDGE2 allows a modem/Handset not just to have multiple time slots but multiple carriers. Just 1/12th of 5MHz is 2 carriers and can give nearly 2Mbps to an Edge2 user. Thus a GSM Sector with 5MHz worth of carriers can support 12 simultaneous connections at nearly 2Mbps = 24Mbps. With 12 simultaneous connections on a 14.4Mbps sector the average per user speed on the sector is less than 200kbps. The higher upto speed on HSPA than EDGE is Vendor Hype. Because that is the total peak 5% area speed for 5MHz. The 245Kbps existing EDGE is only some time slots on ONE 0.2MHz carrier. 1/25th of 3G Spectrum!

transylman

Oh ye of little faith. Nothing but good news in the paper today.

WiMax for Dublin and parts of Kildare

Singapore Company bid for Eircom

All part of the broadband strategy. You have no need to worry while our government is on the case.

watty

The Dark side of the Force

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/01/imp_evidence/

watty

I've been a Communication Engineer too long to be fooled by the snake oil of Cognitive White Space Radio. Over 30 years ago the situation of Nodes A, B and C described and how even though C can hear B, if can't hear A and thus could block B's reception of A. This is a physical problem that can only be solved by a centralised Database of stations, not software added to "C". This is one reason we need regulators, though many have forgotten that proper spectrum allocation, not fund raising is the reason for their existance.


Seems Ofcom have some sense too:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/02/ofcom_white_space/

watty

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/02/ofcom_uwb_update/

Lets avoid Grey imports by rolling over and legalising them and not having proper certification. Like some of the dodgy Networking over Home Mains Wiring that generates wideband interference. Which could affect DSL as well as Radio.