Govt consultation on NGA Fund & travel plans

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Berr have announced a consultation into the spend of the NGA Fund to be responded to by April 1st 2010.

Is there really likely to be market failure which will require public sector funding? And if so, where should the emphasis be on first spend of the money? In an attempt to find some answers, I am leaving tonight to go and join a group of community, rural Fibrevolutionaries from across the States in Utah for a mini conference.

I hope to discover first hand how the subsidies in the U.S. are throwing up potentially similar problems for rural NGA initiatives, and how the rural fibre difficulties have already been solved by some amazing community projects out there.

There are also plans to see first hand round a couple of fibre projects, including Utopia, which has, for me at least, been a project on the radar for a very long time. I am really looking forward to seeing round it and speaking to people who enjoy first rate NGA connectivity today. I will also be talking to some of the foremost experts who are watching with interest how FTTH develops in the UK, and who, it seems, may have some answers to the questions people like me have about how we JFDI anyway, with or without government intervention.

I hope that I will be able to report back during my trip, so watch this space. I will be happy to talk to anyone interested about what I have learned on my return - the usual exorbitant speaker fees apply!