UK government urged to abandon rail plans in favour of fibre

The UK government is being petitioned to provide a 'true national fibre optic network' instead of going ahead with the controversial HS2 rail system.

The petition on the HM Government E-petition website, created by 'broadband activist' Matthew Coutts, states: 'The plans for the HS2 (High Speed 2) rail project should be completely scrapped in favour of developing a national true fibre optic broadband network to make the UK one of the fastest and best connected countries in the world with a future-proof technology in place.

'South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Latvia are the top five fastest connected countries in the world today. The UK is ranked 17th currently. The government is always going on about strengthening the economy.

'Estimates for a full UK FTTP/FTTH/FTTB are around £16 to £22billion, which would mean there would still be money left over to spend on other proposed projects to help benefit the UK as a whole rather than just specific areas.'

However, for those expecting the government to be cowed by people-power, there may be a wait; the petition had gained just 67 signatories at the time of writing.