According to this map in Wired, Britain has some of the cheapest access to broadband internet connectivity in the world. But what does the future hold?

Stephen Timms, the new Minister of State for Competitiveness, will meet with ISPs to discuss the future of the UK’s internet infrastructure, according to a Silicon.com piece:

“As minister for competitiveness, I see it as one of my highest personal priorities that we have a high-performance telecommunications infrastructure in every part of the country, enabling us to compete successfully on a global basis. That is why I have decided to chair a high-level summit later this year to consider the circumstances that might trigger public-sector intervention, the form that intervention might take, and at what level it might sensibly take place.”

The Broadband Finder blog suggests that fibre connections, rather than copper cables, could become the norm — but quotes Steve Robertson of Openreach citing lack of funding as the principle stumbling block:

Robertson asserts “that putting fibre into the ground is just as easy as putting copper into the ground,” and so the roll out should not be any more or less logistically demanding than the current 21CN rollout is at the moment. The main stumbling block is money, and getting everyone involved to bring some cash to the table if we are to see any radical changes over the next few years.