The news that borough-wide 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network in the UK will be switched on in Swindon
next week is very good for the town but needs to be considered against the background of past failure on the part of Council sponsored suppliers to deliver against promises.
What is being offered is nothing like the Digital City Wi-Fi network and as was widely forecast there is no ‘free use’ element attached to the programme being sold by UK Broadband.
In fact what is on offer is interesting but hardly life changing and it’s certainly not something many cash stretched households in Swindon will be splashing
£30 per month to have.
The service is an alternative to fixed line broadband, something with which users are very comfortable with especially as fibre optic technology allows transaction speeds more than satisfactory for most applications.
What is a real plus is the potential savings to the Councils own network costs which Councillors claim will be in excess of £90,000 per annum, although it has to be said the evidence to support the savings claim has not been forthcoming.Interestingly the mobile features of Wi-Fi, extolled as being critical to show that Swindon ‘was open for business’ are no longer the main draw as these are being announced at a later date as yet unknown.
I am sure all readers will be glad to know that Cllr Garry Perkins, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Culture and a director of the company which failed to fulfil its promise to deliver an ‘equally groundbreaking’ Wi-Fi project and which incidentally still owes the Council £400,000 - is
“Really excited that residents, businesses and the public sector in Swindon are now in a position to start enjoying the benefits of both superfast 4G wireless broadband and ultrafast broadband connections” Sadly the fine words accompanying the press release, suggesting this is the best thing to happen in Swindon, have been heard before, so I am sure Coun Bluh will understand if not everyone is taken in by phony expressions which are meaningless without actual delivery and performance. It will be interesting to see how many people prefer to wait for their existing providers to launch 4G – which many will do before the end of the year and others by the middle of 2013 given the Government’s decision to relax its previous hard line on 4G Spectrum availability.
The proof of the pudding is truly in the eating and hopefully this announcement will not leave a sour taste in the mouth