Many business owners around the UK have said that the availability and speed of broadband are key to the growth of the economy and as a result, the parties fighting for votes in the upcoming general election will need to deliver on promises of an improved infrastructure after the polls have closed.

The Financial Mail Small Businesses Panel has shown that there is growing concern amongst small and medium sized UK businesses that broadband is the only means by which they can expand and compete directly with their established rivals.

Business owners will be scrutinising the various manifestos presented by the parties that could take power after May 6th in order to see which offers the best chance of a brighter future for the UK’s business broadband expansion.

There is concern within the business community that without the universal availability of high speed broadband, smaller firms will be unable to maximise their potential, costing the economy billions of pounds.

Business expert Tom Wenham said that politicians would need to look to the needs of small businesses, particularly those located in isolated areas with little or no broadband coverage. Partnerships between businesses and access to services by consumers can only move forward if broadband is not restricted only to densely populated areas.

Rutland Telecom’s David Lewis told The Mail on Sunday that despite claims to the contrary there is actually a significant demand for high speed broadband in rural areas to make the roll out of networks economically viable.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard added “Business users will have to think carefully about where they lend their political support, as each party has different ideas as to how to get BT business broadband packages available to all.”

Gordon Brown has emphasised the importance of super fast broadband access on a universal scale in the UK during a recent speech.

Mr Brown said that it is not inaccurate to equate the importance of the arrival of broadband to that of domestically available electricity. He also pointed out that it would empower the citizens of the UK, as well as saving billions of pounds of taxpayer’s money in the process.

The most significant use of broadband for Mr Brown is in the formation of government policy and the movement towards a truly democratic society. He said that everyone should be able to have their say on the shape of their communities, as well as on the progress of government on a local and national level.

Mr Brown also expects the use of the internet to simplify the standard bureaucratic exercises that are required when moving house, changing job or dealing with any state-funded service.

There is already evidence that broadband and internet-based technologies have saved the government money, as pensions secretary Yvette Cooper has shown figures proving that one billion pounds has already been saved thanks to making services available on the internet.

People will soon be able to claim the Jobseeker’s Allowance online, as well as getting access to their old age pension, which the government claims will save another hundred million pounds each year.

So far the only barrier between the complete virtualisation of many government services has been the lack of universal broadband coverage. It is hoped that cheap cable broadband, subsidised ADSL technology and mobile broadband will all play a part in reducing this deficit.

Simple Broadband’s Simon Gerrard said “It is good to see politicians paying attention to the increasingly essential nature of high speed broadband.”

The upcoming general election could be decided on the merits of the various parties’ broadband plans according to experts.

The Conservative party is attempting to avoid a hung parliament, but the issue of rural broadband availability might scupper its bid for leadership as voters in the more isolated regions could be left out under its current strategies.

Analyst firm Point Topic has pointed out that the Conservative heartland is traditionally located in rural communities and that members of these constituencies will be hit the hardest if the party is elected.

This conclusion has been reached because Labour’s proposed broadband tax is something that the Tories are planning to scrap. This tax would be used to fund the expansion of broadband to areas in which current coverage is limited and speeds are inadequate.

By opposing the tax, Tories could risk alienating their core supporters, leaving them in a rather difficult situation.

Researchers worked out that of the 253 constituencies which are currently suffering from minimal broadband availability, the Conservatives could end up in control of up to 138 after the election.

The Conservatives had planned on investment being sourced from within the telecoms industry, with backing from big business. If this was possible, the tax would become redundant, but it looks as though the necessary funds will require some public money to meet the figures necessary to provide truly universal broadband access.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard said “All political parties will be looking hard at the broadband market in order to assess the kinds of services that UK citizens will need over the coming decade. Broadband is an essential commodity in the eyes of many and those areas which cannot be serviced with BT broadband deals will not want to miss out.”

It has recently been confirmed that Virgin Media will begin offering its next-generation broadband services to homes and businesses around the UK later this year, with download speeds of up to 100Mbps available to those living in cabled areas.

Virgin Media’s current flagship broadband package, which uses fibre optic technology to provide the most consistent speeds possible, is rated at up to 50Mbps for downloads and so the new service would double this potential.

A spokesperson for Virgin Media said that in some areas it would be able to provide business customers with 200Mbps connections, which would make the majority of BT business broadband packages look a little long in the tooth.

Although Virgin Media is pushing its 100Mbps service, a BT representative said that in fact the cable broadband provider was only just catching up with BT. It is claimed that 100Mbps connections are already enjoyed by BT business customers, with the BT customer base being considerably larger, with 25 per cent more subscribers.

Virgin Media hopes to bring 100Mbps broadband to every one of its customers by 2011, but it aims to offer it in some areas before 2010 is out. No further information as to pricing was provided, but Virgin Media is continuing to expand its operations and increase its annual revenue, with a 3.3 per cent rise in 2009.

Simple Broadband’s Communication Manager Simon Gerrard said “Virgin Media is definitely upping the stakes in both the home and business broadband markets and with 100Mbps and even 200Mbps broadband coming online in the near future, the UK will no longer be languishing in the middle of the international league tables for average download speeds. We can only hope that Virgin Media rolls out its fibre optic networks to encompass even more UK customers”.

PlusNet is already considered to be one of the best value broadband providers in the UK for home users and now it has a fresh range of packages aimed at small and medium sized businesses who want quality without excessive cost.

The basic package is Business Option One, which has a maximum download speed of 8Mbps and includes a 10GB monthly data allowance coupled with a free wireless router. As with most PlusNet deals there is also unlimited off-peak usage, which might be useful if you are planning on some late night working.

Options Two and Three offer more of the same, including larger data allowances, free VoIP calling, larger webspace for setting up a business site and faster upload speeds if you take the most expensive package.

PlusNet is consistently ranked as one of the best broadband providers in the UK when it comes to value, although it is also recommended for its UK-based customer service teams and its willingness to serve its customers. It has relied on word of mouth rather than expensive advertising campaigns, to grow over the years, which should be seen as a positive.

If you are looking for an alternative to the BT business broadband packages out there then you might want to compare their prices with the new line up for business users from PlusNet.

Simple Broadband’s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard said “Comparing the various business broadband packages on offer is always advisable and can save small businesses considerably. If it is value you are after then PlusNet offers a compelling range which is not compromised in any way by its low price and which offers even better value if you sign up for 24 months.”

As of January 25th 2010, new and existing BT Total Broadband customers in an enabled exchange area will be eligible for the up to 40Mb service. This will be one of the fastest broadband services available to customers in the UK.

More good news for BT customers is the price. They are charging as little as £19.99 per month for the 40Mb service, which is more than £7/month cheaper than Virgin Media’s high speed service. However, in balanced against that, the Virgin Media offer, it is 10Mb faster than BT, at 50Mb, and Virgin Media are also very reliable with their speed – if you pay for 50Mb, you will get very close to 50Mb nearly all the time. It remains to be seen if BT will be able to get close to the promised 40Mb with such regularity.

One factor that is definitely in BT Broadband’s favour is their upload speed. At 10Mb upload speed, it does put most of it’s rivals to shame, up to 6 times faster than Virgin Media. It is always worth remembering though, the advertised “up to” speed and the actual speed you get can vary greatly with BT.

By the end of 2010, BT are estimating that 4,000,000 homes and businesses will have access to this new faster service, and they expect many to take advantage. With online gaming on the up, a high speed connection is becoming a “must” for many households with teenagers, making their gameplay smoother, and this speed increase could even lead to a further boom in the online gaming sector.

A new consultation between the government and the public has been initiated in order to find out just what it is that the average citizen wants from their internet connection over the next decade.

There is a one billion pound fund available to help kick start developments and improvements and the debate is certain to centre on the question as to whether high speed broadband should be provided to suburban dwellers first, or whether universal availability of basic broadband is a more pressing issue.

The problems facing the telecoms industry are those of market demand versus profitability. In densely populated areas there is a high likelihood of fibre optic broadband and LTE Mobile Broadband becoming available without government intervention, but rural areas are less attractive because of the high costs of setup compounded by the relatively sparse customer numbers.

Whatever decisions are made over the next few years, the economic impact of broadband technology is going to be significant. The London School of Economics predicts that if public and private sectors invest five billion pounds in the development of next-generation broadband networks, over a quarter of a million new jobs would be created and businesses of all sizes would benefit.

Over the next few years, BT broadband deals are expected to be able to offer fibre optic cable connections to between 50 and 70 per cent of the population and the government has targeted 2017 as the year in which next-gen coverage must reach 90 per cent in order for the work to be deemed a success.

Business secretary Lord Mandelson pointed out that Virgin Media was already offering half the country the chance of connecting at 50Mbps, but that the new consultation, the large public fund at the government’s disposal and higher speed BT broadband deals would help to significantly improve broadband internet coverage.

BT has recently announced some fairly significant developments which will please shareholders in the firm as well as business and home broadband customers around the country.

The first piece of news highlights the fact that BT has just passed the five million customer mark for its broadband service. It sent the lucky 5 millionth customer, a chip shop worker from Glasgow, to see the Winter Olympics to mark the milestone which assures BT’s place as the UK largest fixed line broadband provider.

The second exciting development came when BT announced that it was currently ahead of schedule for the roll out of the latest fibre optic broadband technology. The intention now is to make fibre optic broadband available to 10 million customers around the UK in time for the 2012 Olympics and so far the £1.5 billion project is moving along swiftly.

In the last two years BT revealed that it has gained the custom of over one million new business and home broadband users and a spokesperson for the company said that the growth in the number of business customers signing up for broadband was set to continue as higher speeds become available across a wider area.

BT said that with the current work rate it would be able to connect 4 million customers to the internet using the new fibre optic network by the end of 2010 and the pressures of being official communications partner and sponsor of the 2012 Olympics are clearly helping BT to stay on task and stick to its promises.

BT CEO Ian Livingstone said that they expected to gain support from the government in order to ensure that businesses could have access to high speed broadband connections in time for 2012.

It is clear that by the end of next year people looking to compare business broadband packages will be faced with a much wider selection of high speed connections than those that are currently available.

A small village in Wiltshire is playing host to a brand new super-fast wireless broadband trial as part of an exercise by Virgin Media to examine how feasible rural wireless broadband connections are for home users.

Chapel Plaister, near Corsham, has been chosen for the trial which will see Virgin Media team up with telecommunications company Vtesse Networks in order to offer high speed connections to properties within the isolated hamlet.

The trial will lead into a wider set of tests in which the next generation of broadband technologies are being provided to various customers around the country as the deadline for universal broadband availability draws closer.

Vtesse and Virgin Media hope that they will be able to offer customers connections that far exceed the 2Mbps minimum as laid out in the Government’s Digital Britain bill.

The trial in Chapel Plaister will begin in early 2010 and is complemented by a number of other trials taking place in Cornwall in which cheap cable broadband using fibre optic technology is being made available.

Vtesse CEO Aidan Paul commented that the new home broadband technologies being tested by his firm would ideally provide high speed broadband to those living in areas currently bereft of broadband availability.

Mr. Paul made it clear that he is not confident that the 2Mbps target will be reached in rural areas, with land line connections for home users either too expensive or limited by line length. Wireless broadband and the possibility of cheap cable broadband for residents in these areas could be the ideal solutions if industry backing and commercial success are assured, according to Mr. Paul.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revealed statistics which place the UK in the bottom third of a list of global nations in terms of average broadband connection speeds.

The UK ranked just 21st out of the list of the world’s 30 most developed nations in terms of broadband speeds and infrastructure, which means fellow EU states including Spain, Greece and Portugal are higher placed.

The OECD said that the results proved that investment in fibre optic technology was key to improving average broadband speeds. Although the UK is ranked 13th in the list when the level of broadband penetration is considered, a majority of UK customers take advantage of BT broadband deals that utilise ADSL technology rather than the faster fibre optic cable connections.

Japan outstripped the UK significantly, topping the charts with a maximum advertised download speed of 1Gbps according to the report. A majority of Japanese broadband customers connect to the internet using fibre optic technology, whilst on average only one in ten broadband customers in the global market have such an opportunity.

Government subsidies are helping nations including the US, Sweden and Norway to install the next-generation of broadband technology. The report claims that health, education, transportation and electricity industries all benefit from faster broadband and that these economic benefits far outweigh the initial cost of rolling out the fibre optic technology.

The OECD report has shown that the UK’s broadband tax and the funds that it generates could well be the best way forward if the government is to fully implement next-generation broadband technology over the coming years. However, critics believe that this process is not occurring quickly enough and there is little doubt that the UK still has some way to go before its average download speeds achieved via standard BT broadband deals can begin to approach those of the top nations.