Rafael recently moved house within Walnut Tree. He could get broadband at his old house: now he can't.

His wife works as a translator and needs fast frequent access to the World Wide Web. Also, they educate their children at home and need to download large files.

He is our exemplar resident that cannot get broadband.

His European colleagues have 20Mbps connectivity.

He is our exemplar resident that can get broadband, but speed is inadequate.

As a software developer, I realise that my 2Mbps connection really isn't adequate.

Email Mark.

No Broadband! Even though Rafael took great care when moving house within Walnut Tree. Everything seemed fine for broadband at the new house, especially as they would be using the same phone number. He felt the information BT gave was misleading. BT were un-caring, just sending him an SMS message saying no.

Broadband is not an option but a necessity. Consider broadband as a part of our infrastructure.

NTL could be an alternative provider to BT Wholesale. Broadband would be delivered over cable, as is done in many other towns and cities.

There is also the issue with Analogue TV switch off in 2102. Work to remediate the old 1980's cable system could also involve a fix for broadband.

There's also the weary excuse NTL have used: "the council won't let us dig up the roads."

I urged that pressure is applied with OFCOM. Persuade them to extend their "Universal Service Obligation" to include broadband.

BT have said that if the conditions of the "Universal Service Obligation" were changed to include broadband they would have no choice but to comply. At the moment BT need only say "sorry" if you want faster than 28.8kbps.

BT's line checker is still inaccurate. One neighbour can get broadband at 2Mbps, another neighbour can only get 512kbps. ISP's and there customers believe what they read from the line checker web pages. People do believe that a reputable company like BT should get these things right.

Milton Keynes Council are announcing plans for a collaboration with Pipex using Wimax. While this is to be applauded, we should still explore other avenues.

Will the WiMax coverage be adequate? 5Mbps over 1 mile sounds good now, but will it be in 5 year's time?

I am a constituent of MK NE and have spoken to Mark Lancaster on this subject but it equally affects your constituents which I would appreciate your thoughts on.

We are on the edge of a big problem for Milton Keynes regarding broadband. As you may know we have had many problems in Milton Keynes with no broadband, or only 512K/1M ADSL with no prospect of higher data rates. The BB4MK pressure group have made some progress with BT to get ADSL improvements in the city.

One of the problems that Milton Keynes has is that our only form of broadband is ADSL and there is no prospect of us getting any other commercial and technological competitor to ADSL which is uniquely supplied at source by BT Wholesale. The city is now at the verge of expanding. We have an antiquated local loop system barely capable of supporting the city as is. (Local loop is the last mile or so of copper cable to the home).

I have contacted NTL and they have no plans to provide digital cable services as they have no money. This is now leading to a three fold problem.

1) There is no competition for BT Wholesale to improve. BT Wholesale changed their policy on ADSL limits and extended their range because they were being nice to BB4MK. (It was at no or little cost to BT).

2) The telecoms regulator is not forcing BT to provide data services at a reasonable standard. (Technology has outpaced legislation).

3) Analogue TV will soon be switched off. MK is in a fringe area hence us having cable TV in the first place. There are no plans to re-cable for digital which is just storing trouble for the future. This affects TV, and broadband equally.

This will lead to a difficult problem for both MPs in Milton Keynes. I have approached Mark Lancaster on behalf of the BB4MK group who seems very open and willing to do something to help the city. I would respectfully encourage you to meet with Mr Lancaster as this is a highly political and yet non-partisan issue and see what could be done for MK. We need some thinking out of the box. We need investment like a PPP or something like that to get better telecommunications for our modern city. (Our problems are seemingly unique for a big city). Mark Lancaster or yourself speaking alone will have less impact that if you could get together (shoulder to shoulder so to speak) and discuss how you could approach this problem.

Previously I have had many discussions with Brian White who was helpful and insightful. I am genuinely worried for the people of Milton Keynes who deserve a top quality infrastructure otherwise our success and expansion will be stymied.

As a long serving MP for Milton Keynes and Labour MP, you are well positioned to add the weight needed to help the city on this vital issue. The BB4MK group would appreciate your support and I look forward to hearing your views on this subject.

Yours sincerely,

David Hoskins (MK NE constituent and proud MK resident)!

I confess this is not my area of expertise, but in response to Mr. Hoskins' e-mail, I would be delighted to ask the appropriate questions in order to help search for a solution to the issues surrounding the replacement of analogue cable in Milton Keynes.

Providing digital cable television brings a range of new services to MK, including the possibility of broadband over cable. Increased competition in broadband provision should further improve standards by encouraging BT to invest more time and money into Milton Keynes. Therefore, as I see it, a digital cable network will not only allow consumers greater choice in their choice of television provider, but a choice in their broadband provider too.

While it's entirely obvious that digital cable provision is essential to the growth of Milton Keynes, the only road block is of course, money. Who's going to pay for this given the network is now in the hands of NTL, and Mr. Hoskins quite rightly points out, NTL are broke.

I am obviously perfectly happy to ask as many questions as required, but could I ask everyone interested for their views on the correct way forward?

Should this be handled by the Council with some kind of government aid?
Or perhaps the relationship should be between NTL and the government?
Given that 90% of households in Milton Keynes make use of the old analogue cable network, should the proposed solution include an element of funding from local taxpayers?

Do you have any contacts at NTL who could tell us if they are interested in improving the network, and if so, do they already have plans and a timeline?

There is a further issue that I should mention and that's the expansion of Milton Keynes. Should we be ensuring the Council are forcing all developers to ensure new housing is equipped with the infrastructure required to make use of the most up to date digital networks?

With over 70,000 houses planned for Milton Keynes, the provision of digital cable for everyone should form part of the debate on expansion.

I await your views with interest.
Many thanks,
Mark
PS If anybody is interested in what I've been up to down here on behalf of MK, please have a look at www.theyworkforyou.com and type in either my name or your postcode.

Mark Lancaster TD MP

Member for North East Milton Keynes
HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A 0AA
tel: 0207 219 8414
fax: 0207 219 6685

I am writing to you out of concern for the lack of progress of digital cable TV/broadband in Milton Keynes. As you may know there was formed a broadband support group in MK to try to motivate BT to get off its behind and get broadband to all who needs it in our modern city.

We still have black spots and folk limited to 512K or 1M when a lot of people need higher rates. One of the problems is that the only affordable broadband option is ADSL. The historical expansion of MK has made this bitty due to long lengths and not capable of providing the kind of modern service that we need. NTL cannot digitize the archaic analogue network due to the cost of doing it (they are broke). The whole system needs to be replaced as even the cable can't handle the data signals. Very soon analogue will get switched off and soon we will be left with one option for broadband in MK which is ADSL for the lucky who can get it.

Could it not be possible for us to get some government funds/PPP to help subsidize the re-cabling of the city? The analogue system is a hang over from our early days and our circumstances are different to all other towns. If the Conservatives become the next government, I would expect this will become an embarrassing failure for all and will be a thorn in your side in particular. Have you any thoughts on this at all? The analogue switch off is staring us all in the face and something needs to be done which is creative and is not taking no for an answer.

Regards,

Dave Hoskins