ANALYSIS

COPPER cables have been described as 20thcentury technology for a 21st-century digital economy – threatening to hold Britain back while European neighbours speed ahead.

Super-fast internet, meanwhile, has become one of life’s essentials. But BT’s Openreach arm is failing to install the most up-to-date technology in the ducts and poles that connect properties to phone lines. So why is it installing copper wires that have been put in homes for decades instead of modern glass and plastic fibre cables?

The excuse for this chronic lack of foresight, is simple – cash. It’s estimated it would cost £20billion to connect every home with fibreoptic cables. BT says there is not a business case to do it. And it has a get-out clause. The Government has given it the wriggle room to carry on because it believes homes need speeds of only around 10mbps – which copper can deliver. But with the rise of internet TV, movie downloading and online games, it won’t be enough for much longer. At busy times it may not be enough even today.

The failure of digital minister Matt Hancock to push for top-of-the-range infrastructure now will only lead to disruption when Britain realises that cables need to be dug up and relaid to bring the country up to date.