UK Broadband CEO: Fixed wireless is solution to fast broadband rollout woes

'Joined-up' network schemes could save money in period of scaled-back tech

As newly appointed Culture Secretary Maria Miller launches a campaign to cut down on ‘bureaucratic' process in the rollout of ultrafast broadband, members of the telecoms community believe true progress lies in finer consideration of the technology being used to provide superfast connections for all.

"We're trying to get everyone connected by 2015 – that's not possible purely with pipes," said UK Broadband CEO Nicholas James at yesterday's ‘Broadband Britain' Westminster eForum conference.

James' solution lies in the comparatively underdiscussed field of fixed wireless connections.

Over and above fibre to the home (FTTH) or fibre to the cabinet (FTTC), said James, fixed wireless towers have a capacity for targeted, high-quality fast connections that may turn out both cheaper for a government with a mere £680m to spend on ultrafast broadband until 2015 and easier to physically implement in rural areas.

James remarked that fixed wireless solutions offer "a wider spectrum of deployment", which could lead to faster speeds over respectable distances.

"We can do [ultrafast broadband] up to 15km from the base station. That's significant rural coverage, delivering guaranteed speeds, even on a contended network," revealed James.

With the UK's target for the 2015 rollout set at achieving minimum download speeds of 24Mbps, compared with 30Mbps in Europe, James is adamant that fixed wireless can attain that goal more easily than many fibre solutions.

"[It] can deliver 45Mbps up to 7km from the base station. In contrast, fibre cabinets can only do this 1.5km from the cabinet," stated James. "After 9km, we can still meet the EU 30Mpbs [target]."

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UK Broadband CEO: Fixed wireless is solution to fast broadband rollout woes

'Joined-up' network schemes could save money in period of scaled-back tech

But James' overall advice to the community, and the government, in order to meet the deadline within budget was for a combined technology approach, as purely going down the fibre route is an unrealistic financial proposition.

"Our options in the UK, if we had enough money, would be fibre to the hub. We don't have enough money, so there's also fibre to the cabinet. But that's not going to solve the problem. It's an interim solution only," he said. "So we've planned with a number of rural providers, and we have this solution.

"Where we can afford fibre to the home, let's deploy FTTC – temporarily, until the economics say it's worth building permanent fibre – and use fixed wireless where the cabinet runs out; in effect, by dropping base stations as rural cabinets. Wireless can be deployed quickly – you don't need to dig up roads and fields, and it allows rapid market coverage."

James implored the government and telecoms firms to help "design a joined-up network". "We need to look at specific areas and decide where fibre in the home makes sense today, where FTTC makes sense, in terms of subsidising things further, and then how [we can] deploy wireless to fill in the rest," he said.

"We are in an interim technology situation, because of the limits in the amounts of money we're going to be able to deploy, for a long time yet, so let's make sure we deliver a complete solution of at least 30mbps down.

"It can be done, and it can be done today."