The subject of broadband speeds has been in the news for a while, especially after it emerged that a number of internet providers were restricting the bandwidth of their most dedicated users to share the finite resource more evenly. This would be fine except that most of these internet providers were shaping the bandwidth of customers who had purchased unlimited contracts – supposedly guaranteeing them free rein to use the web as they saw fit. 

ISPs offering unlimited subscriptions had made the mistake of believing, and projecting, that consumers would simply continue using the internet for limited browsing and email. Obviously times – and browsing habits – moved on and consumers are now using the internet for content downloads and streaming and the many other applications that require far higher bandwidth than was initially anticipated.

To prevent their broadband services from crashing to the ground, providers tried to disincentivise users from downloading anything by crippling their broadband speed for a couple of days immediately after heavy internet usage.

Machiavellian activity like this from internet providers got people reviewing the small print of their internet subscriptions and most were seriously disheartened. It quickly became obvious that few people were receiving the broadband speeds advertised by ISPs due mainly to an aging and failing broadband network. There simply isn’t enough capacity for every user.

The limited bandwidth available is due to the copper wired telephony infrastructure that is used across most of the UK, which loses signal quickly and can only carry a limited amount of information at any one time.

To provide the level of capacity required to ensure consumers can receive their broadband at the listed speeds and removing the necessity for ‘shaping’, the whole aging infrastructure needs to be upgraded and replaced with fibre-optic cabling. This is prohibitively costly however and any discussion around which parties will actually pay for its delivery tends to regress into a bunfight.

BT commendably  put its head above the parapet back in July, regarding plans to invest £1.5 billion in upgrading its network to super-high next generation standards but has now opted for a different solution.

Rather than tackling the problem head on, the company would rather eke the last possible reserves from its network by offering hardware filters to BT customers – and potentially charging them for it.

These space age devices will filter out the distortion created by peripheral household electrical devices, which can a have an adverse effect on the quality of the broadband signal but any gains made will pale in comparison to the unrealised benefits available through an overhaul of the network infrastructure.

Without this desperately necessary overhaul, all online development within the UK will slowly grind to a halt. If the UK wants to continue to act as a hub for technological innovation and development, it’s  imperative that this infrastructure is brought up to standard…and soon.