Press & PR

UK internet users hoping to see their broadband connections get a welcome speed boost through the installation of fibre optic lines may be disappointed after it emerged that the European Union is not throwing its support behind the scheme.

According to reports, the UK's industry overseer Ofcom had hoped to offer incentives to companies by altering regulations if they agreed to implement the upgrade to broadband services, but the EU is not keen.

"I want regulation to encourage investment in future networks – regulatory holidays are not the solution," said the EU's information society and media commissioner Viviane Reding.

"What we need is appropriate regulation that safeguards competition while creating new incentives for investment."

Both the government and Ofcom have stated that an upgrade to Britain's broadband services would help ensure the UK economy continues to grow apace and they held a summit meeting at Whitehall this week to debate a possible country-wide fibre optic line installation with industry leaders.


Fast broadband connections allow for greater reliability of high-bandwidth services such as voice calls over the internet.

Leading the field in web phone calls is Vonage, which offers unlimited free calls to the UK and Ireland for just £5.99 a month under V-Plan 1.