Member Avatar for GuyClapperton

...with the idea that the world is coming crashing down around our shoulders, particularly with IT stocks falling and banks making tech staff redundant, let's have a think about one particular story. The EU is going to try to get broadband to every house on the continent from which I am writing this.

So far, so unsurprising. What's odd is that the news story quoted says only 36 per cent of homes have broadband at the moment. This tells me a number of things which it might be worth sharing with you.

First, we're all very good at assuming the Internet is going to be a great leveller. This figure actually stresses the danger of our entering a massively uneven era in which there are digital haves and digital have nots.

Second, many IT types - and I do include myself in this as a journalist writing about this - have been talking about the ubiquity of the Internet for a long time now and it just doesn't exist, it's an illusion. We keep assuming everyone has this stuff and frankly they don't.

Third, the good news - this means that at least over here there's plenty of room for growth and Governments willing to throw money at the infrastructure. Cabling installers and similar specialists should be in a job for a long time.

Finally, something that's going to affect us over here and not anywhere else: someone's going to have to decide what 'broadband' actually means. I'm on a 256K connection because I haven't gotten around to doing anything about it and frankly since what I need is always-on Internet I don't need speed; many people tell me this doesn't count as broadband any more. As I say, it doesn't worry me, but if this is going to become a matter of right rather than choice I can see the arguments starting to kick off right now...

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's post is a good reality check and 's backing shows why this matters beyond doom-mongering: access campaigns are only the start. Three short, practical points follow to clarify the trade-offs that often get missed in these debates.

"Broadband" is not a single, eternal number. It is a set of capabilities: sustained downstream and upstream throughput, low latency, predictable reliability, and reasonable data allowances. Policy that treats broadband as a headline speed alone tends to produce solutions that fail for real-world uses (video calls, telehealth, cloud apps) even where a wire is present.

Connectivity is half the problem; adoption is the other half. Cost, device availability, local content, and digital skills determine whether a household with a line actually benefits. Last‑mile economics, terrain, and housing type shape which technologies make sense: fibre, coax, fixed wireless or community mesh. That mix creates ongoing demand for installers, customer support, and training — not just one-off cabling jobs.

Practical, durable approaches:

  • Define minimum service by use case (basic web/mail, streaming/education, telework/health) and measure delivered performance, not just “connection available.”
  • Pair infrastructure rollout with targeted adoption programs: subsidies or vouchers, device lending/refurb, and local digital-literacy training.
  • Treat community networks and small ISPs as partners; they often solve rural/affordability gaps faster than large rollouts.

The core takeaway from the thread is simple: aim for usable, affordable connections plus support services. That combination closes the real digital divide and keeps the opportunity for long-term, skilled work in the sector.

Member Avatar for Techwriter10

Guy,
All excellent points. Great post.

Ron

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