MONITOR
UK manufacturers want fibre
UK manufacturers ’ trade body EEF ( Engineering Employer ’ s Federation ) has responded to the Government Review of Business Broadband warning that the UK ’ s ongoing focus on speed of rollout is potentially distracting policy makers from delivering what industry really needs .
In its submission , EEF says that manufacturers ’ primary focus is on a digital infrastructure that is cost effective , reliable and resilient . It must also be future-proofed . The latter is particularly important with the sector on the cusp of a fourth industrial revolution ( 4IR ) that will see greater integration of physical production with internet enabled technologies .
Eight in ten manufacturers ( 80 %) say that 4IR will be a business reality by 2025 and over six in ten ( 62 %) plan to invest more in Internet-connected capital equipment in the next five years . Over nine in ten ( 91 %) say that a high-speed connection is as important to their business as electricity and water , while manufacturers rate broadband infrastructure as the second highest priority for investment , behind motorways .
New analysis by EEF shows that in the key areas of speed , network availability , quality and reliability , leased lines are seen as the best choice in meeting
Eight in ten manufacturers say that 4IR will be a business reality by 2025 manufacturers ’ requirements . This highlights the fact that the need is not just about speed , but wider factors to do with reliability and resilience . Such is the importance that over a third of manufacturers ( 34 %) have invested in a dedicated leased
line connection , which consequently pushes them down in the queue for superfast broadband upgrades .
EEF is calling for a stocktake to ensure that reliability , resilience and future requirements are being taken fully into account and to ensure appropriate remedies . It says that following the Business Broadband Review , Government must provide a clear framework for improving reliability with milestones , along with plans for remedial action if those milestones are missed . It must also ensure that all players – including Government – stand behind an agreed and co-ordinated strategy .
EEF warns that the UK is ‘ in the last chance saloon ’. BT ’ s Fibre to the Premise ( FTTP ) rollout has reached just 1 % of households and businesses , while the UK remains off the league table for FTTP subscribers according to the FTTP Council Europe .
According to Chris Richards , senior business environment policy adviser at EEF , Britain has “ clearly benefitted ” from the move to faster broadband , which has transformed the economy . “ But there ’ s still much more to be done . The legacy of focusing on speed has served its purpose and it ’ s now time to do a stocktake on what we need going forward . For manufacturers , this is clear – we need a more reliable , resilient and future proofed network to match the fundamental importance digital infrastructure plays in our modern economy .”
“ The UK needs a strategy to improve the reliability of our digital infrastructure through a much more pervasive fibre broadband rollout . We also need confidence that the Government will stand behind that strategy to make sure it ’ s delivered . The reality is that if we don ’ t do this now , in five years ’ time we won ’ t be arguing about where we are in the international league tables – we won ’ t even be in them ,” he warned .
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23 % millennials are OTT-only broadband homes
Parks Associates research finds that 23 % of millennial heads of household are OTTonly households , higher than the national average of 15 % among all US broadband households . The firm ’ s analysts also note that 61 % of millennials subscribe to both pay-TV and OTT services , also higher than the national average of 52 %. “ Younger consumers are willing to subscribe to pay-TV service , provided the offerings align with their expectations ,” said Ruby-Ren Bond , research
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analyst , Parks Associates . “ In particular , millennials show higher-than-average affinity for popular culture and premium movie channels as well as programming for younger children .”
“ OTT services are experimenting with a variety of models in order to differentiate and find their niche within the crowded North American market , which has over 130 active OTT video services ,” Bond said . “ Start-ups and incumbents alike are experimenting in balancing content offerings , content costs , revenue generation , and consumer appeal .”
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Parks Associates OTT data shows : l Nearly 60 % of OTT video services in the North American market are subscription-based . l 64 % of US broadband households subscribe to an OTT video service , up from 59 % in 2015 . l Average monthly spending on Internet-based SVoD services among US broadband households increased from $ 3.71 per month in 2012 to $ 6.19 per month in 2015 . l Approximately 20 % of US broadband households cancelled at least one OTT video service in 2015 . 5 % of |
US broadband households cancelled Netflix in 2015 , up from 4 % of households reporting in Q2 2015 that they cancelled the service in the past 12 months . l 14 % US broadband households subscribe to Hulu , and 7 % of US broadband households cancelled the service in 2015 , roughly the same churn rate from Q2 2015 . l 24 % US broadband households report having a subscription to Amazon so that they can stream video . The churn rate for Amazon ’ s video service declined slightly from Q2 2015 to the end of the year . |
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