UK employers association, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), has called on the country’s government to take steps to ensure that the UK has the fastest broadband connections in Europe by 2030.
The CBI says it believes the fastest European broadband service will be one of several essential services that the UK will need to be able to offer in twenty years time in order to attract investors. The CBI ranks the importance of high-speed broadband for UK business competitiveness on a par with favourable tax incentives; high national levels of attainment in education and skills; and the establishment of fully viable low carbon energy systems.
Broadband is increasingly viewed as an essential part of a modern economic infrastructure, facilitating, for example, the transmission of key video and data services, and enabling full access to beneficial internet-based services such as business VoIP (voice over internet protocol).
Take up of VoIP in particular – either through the establishment of full in-house internet protocol (IP) telephony systems, or via the hosted services of a business VoIP provider or VoIP reseller – is fast becoming one of the most sought-after modern business strategies across the globe.
With rewards from establishing VoIP including reduced phone costs and greater call management flexibility – when compared with conventional telephone company line connections – even those firms with well-established in-house traditional (or ‘legacy’) business phone systems, are increasingly looking to make their systems VoIP-compatible through the installation of session initiation protocol (SIP) trunking.
The urgency of the CBI’s call for the government to act to facilitate quality UK high speed broadband provision is reflected in a recent report by Akamai Technologies which shows that of the top 100 cities in the world with the fastest broadband connections, only one is currently in the UK.
