Ed Vaizey: We’re pulling out the stops to tackle London’s technological issues

Faster broadband: London businesses are being held back by a lack of connections (Picture: Rex)

18 February 2015

Is London losing out in the race for superfast broadband? It’s a vital question, and one the Evening Standard is right to ask — because good broadband is essential for a thriving economy.

A couple of weeks ago, we reached a milestone in our mission to get superfast broadband to people living in rural areas. Two million more homes and businesses can now get it — homes that wouldn’t have it without government investment.

But while rural areas are catching up, people are now asking if a city such as London is falling behind. A high-powered House of Lords committee cites evidence that puts London near the bottom of a league table of cities. In particular, it focuses on “not spots” — areas in central London that have surprisingly poor broadband.

That’s unacceptable. So I’ve sat down with City corporation leaders, local businesses in Tech City and MPs to understand the issues.

One reason is counter-intuitive. Where there is a high concentration of business but few residential homes, like in the City, telecoms companies only invest in very high capacity broadband — but not the kind of fibre broadband wanted by families and small firms.

There are also technology challenges. It’s easier to get broadband to a house than to an apartment block.

We’re tackling the problems.

The telecoms regulator Ofcom has conducted enquiries into the business broadband market — and prices are now falling. And we’ve pioneered vouchers that help small businesses connect to business broadband for free. Thousands of London businesses have taken up the offer.

And following talks with government and the City, BT is pioneering new technology to get broadband to domestic homes in central London.

Despite these problems, in London, the overall picture is better than the committee suggests. Most businesses can access speeds of up to one gigabyte a second. Nine out of 10 homes can now get domestic superfast broadband.

And domestic broadband prices in the UK are among the lowest in Europe.

Londoners and London businesses are also benefiting — as is the rest of the UK — from the fastest roll-out of 4G mobile broadband in the world.

Virgin has just announced a £3 billion programme to bring broadband to four million homes — a significant chunk of which will be in London.

In order to speed up roll out and get costs down, we’re also looking at making it simpler for broadband providers to access land and property where they need to upgrade infrastructure.

Local councils can do their bit as well. They can make it easier for broadband providers to get planning permission to put up cabinets, or coordinate street works to ensure fibre is laid quickly.

A recent report by the consultants PwC put London at the top of 30 global cities. It ranked our capital as no. 1 for “technology readiness” alongside Seoul in South Korea, traditionally the touchstone for all things digital.

But we cannot be complacent if we want London to keep its place as one of the leading cities in the world for technology. I will continue to work with the Mayor, local councils, MPs and businesses that are frustrated at the pace of change. I want to ensure that London is the digital capital of the world.

Ed Vaizey is minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries

Ed Vaizey: We’re pulling out the stops to tackle London’s technological issues

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