With the recent announcement of Nethercomm Corps broadband in gas (BiG) technology,
the 3 big digital service providers in the UK (Telewest, BT, Sky) will be surely
soon be lining up with their proposals outside the offices of SWEB, Scottish
Power, and suchlike. But will the doors be open?
My personal opinion, based on similar events in the UK (like United Artists’
cable roll out in the early 90s that almost never happened) is that yes, the
doors will be wide open, but most likely wedged by the giant spanner that is
greed.
The gas companies will most certainly try to squeeze the most money out of
the situation, and understandably so. Unfortunately, this means that the contract
will simply go to whoever has the most capital available at the time. Also,
when the councils decide they want a slice of the pie and begin charging money
simply because they occupy the ground under which the gas mains are run, the
initial outlay will be astronomical to whomever is brave enough to take on the
challenge.
This will most likely in turn push the cost up on the consumer’s end, with majorities
opting for cheaper, slower fiber-optic connections such as Telewest’s existing
‘Blueyonder’ network.
My concern is that one of two outcomes may occur - The first being that, after
analysis, the digital providers will decide it’s simply too risky and costly
to attempt. Or secondly, that the whole thing will go ahead, but the consumer
may decide it’s too expensive and unnecessary to subscribe to the new services
- ultimately leading to an ‘ITV Digital’ style demise of yet another digital
service provider.
Whatever the outcome, we at CAV
(www.cavuk.com) will continue to
support new wireless technologies as they become available.
For now, we shall have to wait and see what the future may bring…
