Brocade warns against sole focus on fibre broadband

Focusing solely on the rollout of fibre optic broadband infrastructure is not enough to boost connectivity in the UK, Brocade has warned.

The global networking solutions provider argued that a shift in focus from cable deployments to data centres is required if the government is to succeed in delivering the best super-fast broadband network in Europe by 2015.

Marcus Jewell, UK managing director at Brocade, expressed his concern that policymakers and end users appear to believe that broadband speeds are completely reliant on the wire that delivers the service to an individual home or business.

"The current debate is about fibre-to-the-cabinet or fibre-to-the-home," he remarked.

"Unfortunately, this ignores what is happening in the data centre itself, which is integral to the success of any broadband strategy."

Earlier this month, Brocade announced that UK-based post-production and visual effects company Rushes has rolled out a networking solution to connect seven data centres across five buildings in London's Soho area.