Insights

Geo has a range of market insights; our own commissioned research and whitepapers, and links to external documents that you may find interesting. Click on any of the links below to be taken to the relevant document or online article. If there is anything you would like to submit to us for inclusion, please email Karen Quinn.

Geo Briefing Paper: Competition in Fibre Networks

The UK Government’s stated plans for a competitive market in the provision of new optical fibre infrastructure is at risk of complete failure, as the advent of high bandwidth broadband services at the retail level and the need to build out rural broadband networks has led to the re-emergence of competitive problems.

UK ranked fourth in world for fixed-line broadband access

As reported in Computer Weekly, the UK has been ranked fourth globally for fixed-line broadband internet access speeds, out of a list of 38 countries.According to a report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the ICT arm of the United Nations, the UK is also in the top 10 of 152 countries to have seen improved internet and broadband access between 2008 and 2010. Read the full article here.

2011 Ofcom Comms Market Report

The report provides data and analysis on broadcast television and radio, the internet and on fixed and mobile telephony. It also offers insights into how people are using mobile technology to access audio-visual and online content. Take-up of several devices and services reached landmark thresholds in 2010/11. For the first time household internet take-up (78%) exceeded PC ownership (77%) as a small proportion of households went online using mobile phones only; nearly all TV homes in the UK now have digital TV (96%), and three in ten mobile owners now use a smartphone handset. The new research has revealed how smartphones are changing social behaviours and how consumers are relying on their smartphones to help manage the overlap between their personal lives and their work lives. This year’s report also takes the opportunity to look back at the changes that have taken place in the last decade. The report shows that the communications market has been totally transformed by increased ownership and use of broadband, mobile telephones and multichannel TV services. Other services, such as analogue television and dial-up internet have declined so much that they can almost be declared extinct. Read the full report here.

The State of the Internet

Ireland ranks in top ten countries experiencing highest quarterly growth of internet connectivity speeds, according to Akamai report on broadband adoption, mobile connectivity and data trends over time. UK misses top ten with an average connection speed of 4.6Mb/s. Click here to download the report.

The Emergence of a Digital Underclass

Ellen J Hellsper of the London School of Economics authored the research paper: Emergence of a Digital Underclass. The data presented here shows that this approach is likely to lead to the emergence and persistence of a digital underclass. A group of people that is increasingly disadvantaged in comparison to those who have full access to and use of the internet. Infrastructure policy and improved access are necessary, but not sufficient to achieve digital inclusion. Read the full report on the LSE’s website here.

Scotland’s Digital Future

Scotland’s Digital Future: A Strategy for Scotland sets out in more detail how the Scottish goverment intends to achieve their digital ambition. It summarises what is currently being done, and what further actions are proposed in the four key areas
of public service delivery; the digital economy; digital participation and broadband connectivity. Geo has been referenced within the report with a short case study highlighting its London network. To find out more about the Scottish government’s work in this area visit www.scotland.gov.uk.

Download the full report here.

Geo’s innovative cabling techniques

Geo has demonstrated some creative techniques in deploying some of its trickier cable installations. From abseiling from Flintshire Bridge, to directional drilling underneath the Hogarth roundabout in West London, to using cables in London’s sewers to house our fibre, Geo doesn’t pass up a challenge. Watch our YouTube video here:

Geo Briefing Paper: Duct and Pole Access

The UK Government’s plans for rural broadband roll-out are being jeopardised before they even begin. As BT starts work on the £132million Cornwall project, Geo believes projects in other rural areas of the UK are threatened by a lack of co-ordination between Ofcom and Government.

To view our briefing paper on Duct and Pole Access click here.

FTTH Council commission

A survey commissioned by the FTTH Council has confirmed customer satisfaction is higher for all-fibre networks than those such as cable HFC or twisted pair telco. 71% of FTTH subscribers are very satisfied with their Internet service compared with 53% of cable modem subscribers and 52% of DSL subscribers.

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