CBN/ABC joined forces with Avanti Broadband to conduct a study of Britain's broadband-free areas. This summary highlights some of the issues, and the regional differences.Written by GTC's Adrian Wooster, the report looks into the different intervention policies adopted by the RDA's and Regional Assemblies, and how these may have to adapt to deliver the most extensive broadband infrastructure possible.In BT's words, the report is a useful addition to the debate . The full report and associated data is available from CBN (http://www.broadband-uk.coop).

Nuenen is a small market town in the Netherlands - with fibre optic broadband services passing 100% of its homes and buildings, and with 96% of their inhabitants taking the service.The technology they used to achieve this feat comes from Hawick in Scotland. While UK plc falls behind in the broadband stakes for the second time, its encouraging to see that UK businesses are benefitting from their clarity of vision, even if it means focussing on exports while their native market matures. During the summer of 2005 CBN (http://www.broadband-uk.coop/) asked GTC consultant Adrian Wooster to pay Nuenen a visit. This project is a truly remarkable feat with some very novel ideas and approaches to the problems of broadband adoption, deployment of fibre-based services, and community engagement.

The existence of not spots in rural areas is often an indicator of economic activity, penalising those who have done exactly as government policy asked - they tried to diversify the rural economy. Now those who have suceeded are being penalised with second-rate access to broadband. This short report by Adrian Wooster was put together in an attempt to develop the thinking around the plight of the UK's broadband deserts. Its aim in this regard was not to be wholly even-handed but to give grist to a deeper debate on why it is important to seek out solutions to the UK's not-spots. In some respects the advent of broadband has indicated that the infrastructure providers are finally willing to consider technologies based on their ability to deliver particular characteristics; ADSL is now not only a legacy broadband solution in many ways, it is also not appropriate in many environments. Something that large enterprises have understood for many years; they are completely happy mixing wireless, copper and fibre-based networks to achieve their ends. What this paper also suggests is that the providers also need to consider new alliances in order to reach these stubborn residual areas. For example, an alliance between the community and an infrastructure provider is an eminently sensible proposition to both parties if the dialogue could begin.

Fibre-to-the-Home is normally thought of as a preserve of high-density urban areas, with some commentators saying it will never reach more rural areas. But is this a reality?A Fibre-to-the-Home Council study carried out by The Yankee group suggests the UK will account for just 0.5% of the EU's fibre-based broadband subscribers by 2009 - a position which puts us just ahead of Germany at the bottom of the EU league.This short paper looks at the dynamics of the FttH market in the UK, and argues that possibly investors and operators are looking in the wrong place; that perhaps the focus should be on market towns and villages rather than our cities.

Did you know that telecommuncations ducts are really offices? The Treasury thinks so - or at least they do when they calculate Business Rates. Did you also know that BT is the only company to have successfully appealed the valuation set at the height to the boom times, and is now paying less per metre of duct than any of it competitors? GTC asked Lindsey Annison to write a short piece explaining how this works and its impact. Lindsey is co-founder of the Access to Broadband Campaign and sits on the Broadband Stakeholder Group's committee trying to rectify the situation. She can be contacted atl.annison at gmail.com.