§ Mrs. Anne CampbellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects a national fibre optic network to be in place.
§ Mr. Ian TaylorThe Government's policy of telecommunications liberalisation has encouraged substantial investment in modern telecommunications networks. The promotion of competition between interconnected networks is essential if the full benefits of liberalisation are to be realised for consumers. The main fixed link telecommunications operators already have wholly fibre optic trunk networks, and provide fibre optic links to business customers. Cable TV operators are providing fibre closer to the home.
Optical fibre is one of a number of technologies which can be used to provide residential customers with access to communications networks—including optical fibre, coaxial copper cable, copper wire, radio or satellite. For many residential consumers the superhighway applications now being developed are likely to be delivered through using advanced compression technologies over copper networks rather than through wholly fibre optic networks. This process is already underway.