Network Communications News (NCN) June 2017 | Page 22

TELECOM FOCUS
London economy threatened
by poor connectivity,
says London Assembly report
The London Assembly Regeneration Committee describes the capital’s digital connectivity
as “embarrassing” and calls on the new chief digital officer to solve the problem.
L
ondon’s “sub-standard”
digital connectivity is
threatening the capital’s
economic productivity,
according to the
London Assembly.
A report published by
the assembly’s regeneration
committee says London’s low
average broadband speed is
holding the city back, and calls on
the capital’s soon-to-be appointed
chief digital officer (CDO) to tackle
the issue.
‘London’s economic
productivity and international
competitiveness face a significant
22 | June 2017
threat in the form of poor digital
connectivity,’ the report says. ‘The
capital is poorly served, suffering
from ‘not-spots’, ‘digital deserts’
and a lack of fibre connections.’
It said London is far behind
smaller UK cities because
telecommunications companies
are “struggling to deliver for the
capital’s business and residents”.
The report said that Broadband
Delivery UK (BDUK), the
government owned programme
that aims to deliver super fast
broadband across the country,
has tackled ‘easier-to-reach
premises first’ and has not
delivered coverage for particular
areas ‘as a whole’.
‘Many premises have been
counted as covered, but they
still appear unlikely to receive
super fast speeds owing to the
poor quality or length of the old
copper lines,’ it says.
The committee called on the
new CDO to provide leadership
to both the public and private
sectors in tackling London’s ‘not-
spots’ and said there is currently
little incentive for providers to
upgrade connections for small
businesses and residents because
of high infrastructure costs.