Free Broadband

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, December 12th, 2019 - 7 comments
Categories: International, internet, Jeremy Corbyn, politicans, uk politics - Tags: , , , , , , ,

Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog

One of the more surprising policy announcements from UK Labour during this election campaign is their free broadband policy. Described by the BBC as Broadband Communism (maybe someone should point out to the BBC how they are funded) the policy certainly got discussion going.

The policy is to deliver free full-fibre broadband to all individuals and businesses by 2030. The government will own the network that is rolled out and will deliver free full-fibre broadband as the network is completed, starting with communities with the worst broadband access.Image result for full-fibre broadband

British Telecom was privatised by the Conservative Government led by Margaret Thatcher back in 1984. Rather than renationalising the whole company, Labour’s policy is just to bring the broadband part of the business into public ownership. The justification is that internet is a public good and therefore the state needs to ensure all citizens have access to it. This would put internet in the same public good basket as water, electricity and similar utilities. While consistent with Labour’s overall philosophy of bringing back these services back into full public ownership, few expected this policy before it was announced.

As a vote winner, it’s not clear whether saving 20 quid a month on broadband is going to swing that many voters. However the policy when linked with a wider economic strategy of investing in communities throughout the UK has merit. Installing ultra fast broadband in parts of the UK where internet access is poor could well encourage business investment.

While seen as a policy of the left, and decried as much by political opponents, significant investment in broadband infrastructure has considerable merit. The private sector is highly unlikely to invest in full-fibre broadband in poorer parts of the country, so it is up to the state to step in. Thus having this under public ownership is also logical.

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7 comments on “Free Broadband ”

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  1. Bill 1
    12 December 2019 at 2:17 pm

    This would put internet in the same public good basket as water, electricity and similar utilities.

    And that is how you deal with all the censorship/strangulation of public discourse that facebook, google, the Atlantic Council and others are seeking to be the arbiters of.

    That is how you deal with propaganda that propels itself by way of monetised clicks (no commercial incentives embedded in public utilities)

    But hell! What will the National Security State types do if they can't peddle shit and bury inconvenient information beneath claims of it being nowt but Russian manipulation? 🙂

    • Rocco Siffredi 1.1
      12 December 2019 at 2:38 pm

      "And that is how you deal with all the censorship/strangulation of public discourse that facebook, google, the Atlantic Council and others are seeking to be the arbiters of.

      That is how you deal with propaganda that propels itself by way of monetised clicks (no commercial incentives embedded in public utilities)"

      So, it's not just providing internet access, it's also regulating the content as well?

      • Gosman 1.1.1
        12 December 2019 at 2:47 pm

        I think Bill is trying to state that giving people free broadband will allow people to access more "non mainstream" media sources and thus people might find out the "truth" from one of the many alternative news sources he likely gets his info from.

        [I am still waiting for you to respond to my Moderation note: https://thestandard.org.nz/the-freedom-to-lie-during-an-election-campaign/#comment-1672371 and I do look forward to nice break over Christmas – Incognito]

      • Bill 1.1.2
        12 December 2019 at 3:19 pm

        If you mean ensuring content isn't manipulated by corporate actors and powerful individuals who create algorithms designed to relegate "unfavourable' speech and promote "favourable" speech, then yes – regulation that ensures access and an even handed propagation of information is fine by me.

        Is that the intention behind Labour bringing broadband into public ownership? Fucked if I would know. But it would seem to open up that possibility, and that's a good thing.

        edit – to Gosman….fuck off and don’t be a twat.

  2. Bazza64 2
    12 December 2019 at 3:43 pm

    I hear that with the new 5G towers around the stuff on the clothesline dries a lot quicker, so that's got to be a good thing with new advancing technology.

  3. Ad 3
    13 December 2019 at 9:22 pm

    And we can forget all this free crap and all