New Report Says Europe Needs Multiple Technologies to Achieve a Gigabit Society
November 24 2016 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
Coincides with the launch of Liberty Global’s ‘GIGAWorld’
initiative, showcasing 50 million GIGAReady homes in Europe, with
millions more expected over the coming yearsGIGAWorld expected to
deliver Commission’s Gigabit Society targets eight years ahead of
schedule
The European Commission’s vision of a “Gigabit Society” by 2025
will require investors in broadband networks to deploy a range of
technologies when connecting homes and businesses to ultra-fast
broadband, including G.Fast, fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP), DOCSIS
and 5G.
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That is the conclusion of an independent report by the media and
telecoms consultancy, Communications Chambers, commissioned by
Liberty Global, the world’s largest international TV and broadband
company. The report looks at the fastest and most cost-effective
ways of reaching the European Commission’s goals for access to
high-speed broadband by 2025. The Commission has set targets of one
Gbps for socio-economic drivers, such as schools, hospitals and
large businesses, and a minimum speed of 100 Mbps for all
households, which would also be upgradeable to deliver speeds of
one gigabit and faster - referred to in the Communications Chambers
report as ‘Gigabit speeds’.
The report argues that a range of technologies currently
considered “very high capacity” (VHC) by the Commission - such as
G.Fast close to the end user, fibre-to-the-building or premise,
DOCSIS and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) – are all capable of meeting
the 2025 targets. The report adds that in the case of VHC networks
based on DOCSIS, Gigabit speeds could be achieved as early as the
end of 2017, eight years ahead of schedule and at a lower cost than
FTTP.
The report applauds policy-makers who are being
technology-neutral, and warns that an over-prescriptive policy of
focussing solely on FTTP risks jeopardising investment. It says:
“The wrong intervention could be wasteful, or even damaging. For
example, support for an expensive and slow-to-deploy technology
could drive up prices and paralyse investment in other technologies
which might have delivered improved performance more quickly.”
It cites the example of Australia, which found that its
broadband became worse after a government push on
fibre-to-the-home. Similarly, it says: “Korea and Japan’s
substantial government interventions to support FTTP have also been
disappointing. Both countries have performed relatively poorly in
their use of socially or economically-valuable internet
applications, such as e-government and e-health, despite their
superior (and expensive) infrastructure.”
The report is being launched alongside a new initiative by
Liberty Global, called GIGAWorld, which outlines Liberty Global’s
plans to bring Gigabit internet speeds to the 12 European countries
in which it operates. Around 50 million homes in Europe have access
to Liberty Global’s fibre-based “GIGAReady” networks. Liberty
Global expects that millions more will be connected over the coming
years.
Mike Fries, Liberty Global’s CEO, said, “Our scale, commitment
and ambitious plans to invest in the infrastructure of our age make
us perfect partners to deliver the EU’s vision of a Gigabit
Society. Today our fibre-rich networks can connect 50 million
GIGAready homes and we are currently expanding to millions more
over the next few years, helping accelerate the digital revolution
in Europe.”
Robert Kenny, Founder, Communications Chambers and co-author of
the report, added: “Thanks to investment already under way by cable
operators, gigabit broadband will be available to roughly half the
premises in Europe by 2018 - far ahead of the Commission's target
of 2025. This will allow the Commission (and member states) to
focus elsewhere, where interventions are necessary."
About Liberty Global
Liberty Global is the world’s largest international TV and
broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across
Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the
infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the
digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enables
us to develop market-leading products delivered through
next-generation networks that connect our 29 million customers who
subscribe to 60 million television, broadband internet and
telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile
subscribers and offer WiFi service across seven million access
points.
Liberty Global’s businesses are comprised of two stocks: the
Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) for our
European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ: LILA and LILAK,
OTC Link: LILAB), which consists of our operations in Latin America
and the Caribbean.
The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under
the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and
UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America
and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más
Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber
network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com.
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Liberty GlobalInvestor Relations:Oskar
Nooij, +1 303 220 4218Christian Fangmann, +49 221 8462 5151John
Rea, +1 303 220 4238orCorporate
Communications:Julia Hart, +31 20 778 3345Matt Beake,
+44 20 8483 6428Rebecca Pike, +44 20 8483 6216
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