Labour’s Broadband Plan - For the Common Good
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/15/labour-free-broadband-digital-future-public
This important article by Mathew Lawrence of the Common Wealth thinktank was published in the Guardian. Lawrence declares broadband to be a basic human right. Labour’s policy could be part of an election winner.
Jeremy Corbyn proposes that the whole country should be covered with full-fibre broadband by 2030 - starting with the areas with the worst reception first. It would be entirely free to use, provided by a public sector corporation. Full-fibre kit can download a high definition film in 50 seconds. It is increasingly vital for education, for business, and for planning such items as’smart’ energy grids and electrical vehicle charging.
There is no doubt that Britain has fallen behind in the provision of broadband access. Mathew lists countries as South Korea, Portugal and Spain as being way ahead of us. Britain is on a on a miserable 7% coverage. The countries named have been regarded as ‘backward’ compared with the UK. If it carries on like this we’ll be the backward country.
Why is this? In Britain fibre optic broadband provision was left to BT, privatised by the Tories in 1984. BT management were told in effect, ‘Fill your boots and don’t worry about the rest of us.’ Boris Johnson burbles imbecilically, denouncing Corbyn’s plan as, “Crazy, crazy Communism. “
South Korea has 99% full fibre internet coverage, compared with our 7%. South Korea is not a communist country. After the Korean War it was a desperately poor country, which built up its industry by laying on the necessary infrastructure and drawing capitalist firms into a national plan. This worked. British capitalists, like privatised BT, on the other hand have been obsessed with making short term profits with no thought for the future. Capitalism, in the form of BT has failed us, and has been allowed to fail us by Tory (and New Labour) governments.
The reaction to Labour’s plan has been extraordinary. Commentators have been moaning and gawping about the cost. They don’t mention the benefits, or make any attempt to add them up. As if they have the attention span of goldfish, they have suddenly discovered that the British government has fallen behind in the provision of broadband for its people. And, yes, broadband provision is the responsibility of the government. it is a public good.
Broadband access is what it called a natural monopoly. It costs a lot to set up the network but, when in place it can be used by more and more punters at no extra cost. For example broadband use has shot up by 26% over the past year. Margaret Thatcher killed off BT’s drive to roll out fibre optics and super-fast broadband because it would have been a monopoly supplier. What the system needed, according to her, was ‘competition to spur investment’. Capitalist competition has been the problem, not the solution.
The road system is one of our means of physical communication in the UK. It is provided free in order to give the maximum use for all. If it were charged for, travel would slow down. That is obvious. The broadband network is the equivalent of the road network for the communication of ideas and data - and equally as important in the twenty-first century.
Labour’s programme is imaginative and ambitious. Will it work? The proposal is to take over part of BT called Openreach, technically a separate company. Openreach employs 32,000 workers. There are certainly technical problems to be overcome. More important is the resistance of the existing suppliers. They will of course be demanding compensation - how much? BT shares sold at £5 in 2015; now they are worth only 193p.
Labour must override the objections of these vested interests. The privatisation of BT was a looting of public assets. The private companies who took its place have failed to provide the infrastructure modern Britain needs. The other suppliers must be incorporated into Corbyn’s plan if they are prepared to co-operate. Otherwise they should be swept aside.
