Wednesday, June 19, 2013

UK - Think tank calls for £5.5 Bn for ultrafast broadband to the door instead of high speed rail lines

The New Economic Foundation (NEF) has published a report arguing against HS2, the high speed rail link running north from London.

Rather than spend £33 billion on HS2, the NEF calls for:

  • £10 billion on upgrading our exiting North-South mainlines
  • £10 billion to overhaul regional rail around the country
  • £6 billion on improving buss and light rail (e.g. tram) networks around the UK – and introducing smart ticketing systems (like London’s Oyster card)
  • £2 billion on better biking and walking infrastructure
  • £5.5 billion on rolling out ultra fast ‘to-the-door’ broadband coverage across the UK – boosting business and reducing the demand for unnecessary business travel
The full text is available here.
The cost of providing fibre-optic connectivity to every house in the UK has been estimated to be at least £15 billion, however. So while our alternative investment package would clearly not contain the full amount necessary to reach every UK home, it could connect most homes in the core cities shown below.

No comments:

Post a Comment