UK blames 'EU delays' for broadband roll-out
UK blames 'EU delays' for broadband roll-out
Competition concerns in Europe are putting the brakes on the UK’s roll-out of superfast broadband, the Government has complained.
It said that EC competition watchdogs are holding up the process because they are unwilling to allocate infrastructure-building grants, as BT is the only company that is willing to take on the job. The European authorities want to see more competition for the contracts before they part with the funding.
The problems centre on accessing finance from the Urban Broadband Fund (UBF) for the Super Connected Cities Programme (SCCP). Under EC rules, the money will only be granted if there is an open competition for the contracts. But after Fujitsu UK pulled out, BT was the only company interested in tackling the work.
The UK Government had promised that superfast broadband services would be available by 2015 but this is now looking unlikely because of the delays it said were caused by the European authorities.
A spokesman from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) told tech website The Register: "At a recent meeting with the EU Commission it was made clear that a workable State Aid approval for infrastructure would require an investigation of between seven and 18 months. On this timescale, and with uncertainty over the eventual decision, cities would find it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to deliver completed infrastructure elements of their plans by 2015."
This is not the first time the Government has blamed Europe for delaying its broadband promises. Last year, it complained about problems in accessing funding for the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) scheme, an umbrella project to provide £530 million for rural broadband connections and £150 million to boost provision in big cities.
The EU competition authorities said that the delays were due to the lack of information provided by the UK Government, that were preventing proper assessment being made.
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