"Individual Broadband ownership" proposed

"A new model for the future of broadband deployment"

26 November 2008 14:41 GMT / By Katie Scott

So with BT's million pound plans for a super-fast fibre broadband network possibly going on hold, and reports on the dire state of the offerings in this country, do we need something drastic?

Well two American researchers have come up with a controversial ploy which could solve our problems.

In a paper from the New America Foundation, Columbia University law professor Tim Wu and Google Policy Analyst Derek Slater suggest that the individual and collective ownership of fibre broadband cables by home-owners could be a solution.

They are basically proposing that, "home-owners could invest in fibre connectivity as a kind of annex to their homes", explains Ars Technica.

This means, if possible, neighbours could share the costs and the management fees.

It would also mean that providers would be selling their services to customers direct without having to take into account infrastructure deployment costs.

And, said the duo, Governments could help speed up the process by offering tax credits for broadband ownership.

There are, of course, many problems with the concept, including the fact that providers, at the moment, benefit from economies of scale when laying broadband fibres.

But it's an interesting idea anyway.

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