Jonathan Bishop

I feel I have to write to express my dissatisfaction with Carwyn Jones’ “next generation broadband deal” with BT (“BT deal promises faster broadband to nearly all”, July 20). From both a technological and economics perspective the plan is flawed.

The First Minister wants BT to install “fibre broadband” cables to give the fastest internet connections in 96% of Wales. What about the other 4%? Will it be the same 4% currently without internet access because it is not profitable enough to provide it? In my view it would make more sense for public investment in broadband to focus on the mobile phone network. There are so many people in Wales without mobile phone coverage, and if capacity in this network was increased then the problem of lack of broadband access would vanish as would other aspects of the “digital divide”. Mobile broadband is in many cases cheaper than fixed-line broadband.

When “fibre broadband” is no longer the best game in town, if anyone could afford it, we will be stuck with as outdated a fixed line network as we have with copper now. But it is much easier to update mobile phone masts to the latest technology, as we have seen with them going from “GPRS” to “HSDPA+” with only a short amount of service interruption on each occasion.

Carwyn’s grand plan for broadband looks to me like being another EU-funded white elephant.