Fibre broadband providers warn of potential digital divide

Providers of fibre broadband services have warned that a widening gap may be emerging between the areas of the UK with the best and worst internet connectivity.

Representatives from BT and Fujitsu stated at the recent Westminster eForum that EU targets for broadband speeds of 30Mbps are unlikely to be achieved by all citizens by 2020, reports BBC News.

According to the companies, current levels of government funding will not be sufficient to ensure everyone can access fibre broadband networks, with BT director of strategy and policy Sean Williams suggesting that only 90 percent will be reached.

For these users, over half will be able to access super-fast speeds of more than 100Mbps within ten years, but those in the remaining ten percent are still likely to be plagued by markedly inferior services.

Bill MacKenzie, Fujitsu's business unit director, added that the government will need to "speed things up" if it wishes to achieve its goal of providing Europe's best broadband network by 2015.

This comes after Timico chief executive officer Trefor Davies stated earlier this week that most industry experts do not believe this target will be reachable.