Government accused of broadband betrayal

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government has been accused of a broadband betrayal by the Labour Party.

With less than a week to go until the general election, shadow Cabinet Office minister Chi Onwurah stated that the competitive telecoms market has been "effectively closed off" during the last five years.

Speaking to V3, she said: "The Conservatives and Lib Dems have betrayed Britain on broadband."

Labour Party has promised that it will deliver “affordable, high speed broadband” to all of the UK if it forms the next government, while the Conservatives are pledging that ultra fast broadband – speeds of 100Mbps or more – will be made available to "nearly all UK premises as soon as practicable".

Ms Onwurah pointed out that a large part of the country is still without access to basic broadband, which could leave many business struggling to keep up with their rivals.

She added: "That is an economic betrayal. We see frustration from people like farmers and others in rural areas that they can’t be part of the digital [economy]. They can’t use one of the biggest enabling technologies of our age."

A recent survey of 2,500 people conducted by Cable.co.uk revealed that broadband policies could have an impact on where many undecided voters put their crosses next Thursday.

Cable.co.uk editor-in-chief Dan Howdle noted that none of the party manifestos which have been published have promised to roll out super fast broadband to 100 per cent of households.

Ms Onwurah also accused the government of failing to do enough to improve cyber security levels in the UK.

"They think it is only for the government and big businesses. It took them a long time to begin working with industry for a standard on cyber security but I thought it was lacking in understanding," she said.

Businesses looking to move services into the cloud should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.

(Image: Bidgee)