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Independent Networks Co-operative Association chief Malcolm Corbett interview: part I

As chief executive of the Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), Malcolm Corbett is well acquainted with the issues surrounding the national rollout of optical fibre-based next generation broadband access (NGA), and has some interesting views on how best to fund it.

The INCA aims to co-ordinate the emerging patchwork of regional and local NGA projects, bringing together public and private sector organisations to build next-generation networks (NGN).

Corbett believes these localised NGA initiatives could play a vital role in ensuring no one is excluded from the NGA revolution. “BT says it can get to 66 per cent of the population with its own £1.5bn fibre-to-the-cabinet [FTTC] rollout - that leaves out an awful lot of the population if we don’t do something about it,” he says.

"However, there’s a variety of alternative NGN models that work. We describe it as a patchwork quilt because the models vary on how they’re funded and operating. For example, private firm H2O networks is delivering optical fibre through the sewers in Bournemouth, Independent Fibre Networks Ltd (IFNL) is delivering networks to a variety of new build housing developments, and Geo is rolling out fibre involving long-term financing."

Public sector projects looking to build infrastructure in areas that would otherwise be denied NGA are also beginning to roll out optical fibre network connectivity.

“South Yorkshire's Digital Region is an example, and hopes to cover the whole of the South Yorkshire area, not just big urban centres like Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield,” says Corbett.

Alston: a cost-effective community NGN rollout

Corbett cites the small Cumbrian market town of Alston as an example of a community-based fibre rollout.

"Alston has 2,500 people in 938 households spread across a moor, and is one of England's most sparsely populated parishes, so doing an NGA fibre-to-the-home [FTTH] rollout ought to be impossible," says Corbett, adding, "If we can do it there, we could do it anywhere."

Alston has been down this route before with the first generation rollout, says Corbet. "They found themselves at the end of the line that time as well."

"They set up a community-owned wireless network called Alston Cyber Moor, servicing around 35 per cent of the population. Now they want to create Alston Fibre Moor," says Corbett.

The INCA and Alston set themselves "‘three one hundreds" target: 100Mbit/s symmetric connectivity, covering 100 per cent of the population, for £100 per year - about what people were paying for their line rental.

“That should be really hard, but they're doing it - so the most sparsely populated place in England is currently building its own fibre network, right now,” says Corbett.

How are they funding this? "There's a grant from the government's Strategy Technology Board, and also there's funding from the Department of Health for a Telehealth testbed," explains Corbett.

"They’re laying fibre to people’s homes today and connecting them in, although at the moment they can’t afford a 100Mbit/s backhaul into the network – it’s currently 20Mbit/s," says Corbett.

Corbett believes it is in everyone's interests for more rural communities to move off the national and top-down site model to one that's based on local resources.

"At the end of the day, this type of model will spread NGA more widely using less of our public money - that's my taxes and yours [than would otherwise be the case]," he says.