Disconnected policy

Free broadband for everyone might seem like a great idea after all in our always connected digital lives more, especially when it comes to amazing quality connectivity, more is good. And free more seems like a no brainer. But it needs thought.

When BT was privatised back in 1984, the same year that the telecoms industry started deregulating, everyone knew something techy was happening and we had to change - but we had little idea that 35 years later we would have more connectivity in our cars car than the average corporate had in their office. To be honest the privatisation was shambles - the wrong strategy, the wrong people running amazing infrastructure and assets with little clue how to maximise all of this in a modern, sharing computer age. Do not get me wrong there were and still are amazing people in BT, but few were getting to the front of the pack back then with the right mind set.

This complex, non-commercial environment also meant it took years for sustainable and commercial alternatives to take hold - simply due to the sheer cost and complexity of building your own infrastructure vs the previously nationalised incumbent, and also how bloody difficult it was to get BT to release access to assets. Lets' not forget the demand for more connectivity wasn't really there in the way we see now - copper was defacto, fibre was expensive and the demand for high speed from both was limited due to end user cost.

Remember BT came from a time where they were compelled to install a phone line to a house on top of a hill in northern Unst at the same price as if the request was in central Edinburgh. In any economy, especially a digital one, that does not make any sense and was not sustainable - it might not be fair but that depends where you live and work.

The digital adoption driving our hunger for a full fibre economy is no longer a one horse race and it never really has been - the alternatives, niche and local, national and broad are now well establish. It is by no means perfect but wow it is way better than it was. This competition has allowed companies like IFB to start up and grow in a way that was so difficult before it was almost unimaginable. We can provide services previously the reserve of the big guys with the same reach and quality of service our customers demand.

What’s more it has allowed companies like IFB to bring new offerings to a market desperate for better data connectivity - digging up whole cities to bring new full fibre networks with new partners like CityFibre. This helped us help our customers to start, develop and grow in the same way - we know we have been responsible for the creation of at least 1 other ISP and directly assisted in the successful growth of several other customers and companies. All because we, and others, had the initiative to take advantage of the market opening up and evolving.

BT is a very different beast now - it's privatisation has underpinned our massive digital economy, they have done this by being innovative and ambitious and by attracting some amazing people including leaders as well as doers. At the same time they have delivered some amazing technologies and innovations and off the back of historic infrastructure extended our nations digital footprint for the future. It has also created, and works with, the competition that throws rocks at it and competes with it everyday.

Their responsibility for digital national security for example often goes unrealised and unimagined.

Without putting too fine a point on it and in a very non-political way - nationalisation of this vital business and part of the economy it sustains - disconnects all of this.

GG