Next-generation broadband ideal for late adopters

Benefits of potential services will outweigh costs of providing access, says Ofcom consumer panel

Rural access to broadband must improve, according to Ofcom

The government should give consumers who are excluded from first-generation broadband the opportunity to jump straight to next-generation internet access, according to the Ofcom Consumer Panel.

Mapping rural areas of the country still unable to get broadband, and engaging the private sector in finding ways to improve access, is crucial, said the group.

"If we are imaginative and use a mix of private and public business models, we could provide a way for consumers who are excluded from first-generation broadband to leapfrog straight to the next generation," said panel chairman Anna Bradley.

Investment in broadband for those currently on the wrong side of the digital divide will benefit society and the economy in the long run, according to the panel.

The group pointed to services such as NHS telemedicine and education for marginalised communities.

Bradley believes that the private sector alone will not address these problems.

"We already know that the economic case for next-generation access will not stack up in some areas, and we can predict which areas that will be," she said. "So let's address these issues alongside commercial roll-out, not after it."

The Ofcom Consumer Panel is an independent advisory body set up to advise communications watchdog Ofcom.