Borderline Border broadband?

Borders broadband press release

"A MASSIVE broadband project will ensure future generations of Borders schoolchildren, even those in remote rural areas, will have the same access to innovative technology and learning programmes as their Central Belt counterparts.

Pupils will be able to share 'virtual classes' with youngsters, not just in other local schools, but around the world. Links will be lightning-fast and picture quality will be in high definition.

Local authority services will be transformed, according to Scottish Borders Council leader David Parker, with all 120 council offices benefiting from the huge 16-megabit broadband network.
TheSouthern can exclusively reveal that a £32million contract for the so-called South of Scotland Pathfinder Project has been signed by SBC and Dumfries and Galloway Council, bringing a successful conclusion to a two-year procurement process which saw tenders for the work advertised Europe-wide...."

One has to ask what the upgrade path is for this network because 16Mbps in today's international broadband environment is not a great deal. After all, in Hong Kong now residents have access to 1Gbps (that's 1000Mbps)  connections at an affordable rate of $215/month, and many countries are offering 100Mbps connections, even as close to home as Holland and Sweden. If these children are going to attempt to communicate with youngsters around the world, then they need to have similar levels of connectivity.

This is of course our very own next generation entering the knowledge economy, who surely need to be engaging on a level playing field as their counterparts and peers elsewhere in the world with a next generation network? 16Mbps is NOT next generation.

Sadly, once again, with a publicly funded network, there is no indication that this network will be shared with local residents and businesses, who presumably would also benefit from the connection and from being able to create the very workplaces these children will want to be moving into, not operating in some stagnant technological business backwater. The future bosses of these children need the opportunities to grow their businesses in time for these youngsters' employment, and presumably the parents and relatives of these children also need to be kept as up to date as their offspring.

Hopefully, more details will come out after the 2 week grace period. At the very least, this looks like yet another first, and here's a toast to Scotland for yet again achieving it, where England seems incapable. Although it doesn't mention a symmetrical connection, it seems likely that someone has finally had the balls to break away from the copper based obsolete asymmetrical technology that our incumbent are so keen to continually force down our throats and call 'broadband'.