UK Broadband infrastructure - why are we so behind?

I feel and share your pain.

The problem is with our infrastructure, and who owns it! BT have a monopoly on phonelines, but they were installed at taxpayers expense when the BT and previous derivatives were State owned and funded.

BT are now private, but big as they are, they can't quickly and easily replace the nations underfunded and ailing infrastructure outside the large population areas.

No newcomer to the market place can afford to lay a brandnew infrastructure, and rival technologies like cable only cover a proportion of the country, with the same financial arguments hindering full coverage.

I was hoping an answer may have been with i3 whose grand plan was going to lay fibreoptic network throughout the UK sewer and other services network, removing the need to dig all the streets up and utilise existing underground services.

It sounded great in theory, but alas it all went Pete Tong, after disaster after disaster, the parent company has flogged off the broadband project
The i3 Group Sells UK Fibrecity Broadband Projects amid Council Fury

No idea what the answer is, maybe a separate organisation like rail track, but funded from central govt from an ever dwindling pot of money?

The whole copperwire network needs upgrading and replacing, and BT told us last November that the current exchange upgrade roll out was being halted due to new technology, so they were starting again.

There honest appraisal for our local office exchange getting upgraded was in the region of years. This was one of the biggest factors (next to parking) that made us relocate offices.

I appreciate your comments and yes BT is of course privatised as admit to being one who did indeed profit form that sale.

No I certainly don't know the answer but somewhere along the line, government will have to get involved because if they don't (and to quote Osbourne and Cameron "Britain is open for Business") we won't be able to compete with other countries on a level playing field and then we will struggle as a country.

I wonder how it is in other countries? I know Japan has (or had!) an amazing comms infrastructure, but what about other places?

The US has had a decent cable infrastructure for years, but the country is huge. How do people fare outside the larger towns and cities? I wonder if they have the same problem as the UK?

What about the rest of Europe? There must be someone we can analyse, identify with and learn from?

Are France, Germany etc really ahead of us, if so why? Is it huge central govt funding, or opening up the sector to more competition than we have?

It really is frustrating. All that 1990's hype about the information super highway is coming. More like a single lane farm track with road works

Heres an interesting article:
Broadband: How Britain compares - Telegraph

Because it takes a long time for infrastructure to be built and the benefit to the creator of infrastructure has to profit from it enough to make it worth the expense. You can pick anything about your country you don't like and somewhere on earth will have it better. Although we are behind in business broadband i still want to live in UK.

Sounds a little naive to me. The 'pictures' a little bit bigger than that. The return on investment is exactly that. A company has to invest first. It is also incumbent on the government of the day to ensure the country has an infrastructure that works to the best benefit to create wealth for the country as a whole. A good Broadband service is absolutely essential for the future wellbeing of our country!