Author Description

Telecoms networks have improved dramatically over the last 150 years. Initially developments were focused on delivering voice calls to homes and then to mobile phones, and then from the 1990s to enabling Internet connectivity. Data capabilities have improved from early 1.2kbit/s modems to networks that can deliver 100Mbits/s or more. And data usage per person has gone from a few Mbytes/s per month to hundreds of Gbytes – nearly a 1 million-fold increase. It is natural to think this progression will continue forever. But this is not so. Beyond around 10Mbits/s on mobile phones and around 50Mbits/s on fixed broadband, faster data rates make no difference to most. At those speeds there are other constraints such as the Internet servers that limit responsiveness. And our main use – video – only requires 3Mbits/s for high definition. Our use of data is now levelling off, with growth rates already below 20% a year and likely to fall to 0% - a flat level of usage – before the end of the decade. Those who are well connected, with good home broadband and good mobile coverage – even if it is only 4G – have all the connectivity that they need. We no longer need to strive for faster networks, for more fibre or for the next generation of mobile technology. The journey that started with Morse and Marconi has come to an end. It is the end of history for telecoms. Of course, users would like all of this for less, and they would like ubiquity, especially in mobile connectivity and this can be delivered with appropriate government targets and regulatory action. This change from seeking ever-better networks to having all we need has huge consequences. Politicians should stop fixating on the latest “greatest” technology and instead be concerned about delivering ubiquity at the lowest cost. Regulators need to set aside their view that market forces are sufficient and their assumptions that they will be auctioning spectrum periodically and look instead at r