Ofcom says lack of killer app restricts super-fast broadband take-up
Uptake of super-fast broadband in the UK is too low due to the lack of a major selling point, according to Ofcom.
Speaking at the Total Telecom World conference, the regulator's chief executive Ed Richards argued the closest thing to a 'killer app' to persuade consumers to sign up for fibre optic broadband packages is demand from multi-user households.
Despite the existence of online services such as ehealth and interactive education, the biggest driver of demand for next-generation broadband is "the presence of teenage children", he claimed.
"As an approach to promoting super-fast broadband take up, 'having more teenage children' seems a little long term and a little distant from reality," Mr Richards remarked.
However, the Ofcom chief acknowledged that demand for bandwidth is increasing, with figures published by the watchdog earlier this month showing the average residential fixed broadband user consumes 17GB of data per month.
Furthermore, Virgin Media revealed in its financial results for the second quarter of 2011 that data consumption had risen by 25 per cent in just six months.
Consequently, the lack of a killer app is "in some ways beside the point", Mr Richards commented.
