Hung parliament will nix NGA rollout

A hung parliament is likely to delay high-speed broadband investment

The differences between the approaches of the Labour and Conservative parties will have a significant affect on the outcome of the next-generation access rollout, the head of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) said today.

The remarks were addressed to industry experts gathered for the Future of UK Broadband debate held in Westminster.

Both major parties have significantly different approaches to NGA rollouts, pointed out BSG chief executive Antony Walker.

"We now have two quite different roadmaps for the future of broadband in the UK. The incumbent Labour government has an industrial activism strategy favouring a 'nuts and bolts' approach, and potentially investing directly in network deployment," said Walker.

The Conservatives approach is just starting to emerge, said Walker. "I've termed it a 'market activism' approach, and it's more focused on looking closer at [private sector] market mechanisms, than direct government investment," added Walker.

The two different approaches create quite a bit of uncertainty, said Walker. "We'll have to live with it until the other side of the election," he added.

Although the Conservatives are expected to win the next election, the worst scenario for NGA networks would be a hung parliament, pointed out Walker.

"If there's a couple of years of political uncertainty, and no resolution of the two different road maps, ISPs and investors may hold back on deployments," added Walker.

A general election will have to take place on or before Thursday 3 June 2010.