The announcement of ten super connected cities during today's UK budget shows the foolishness of politicians.
The problem with concentrating yet more bandwidth capacity in places which are already over-served is that you exacerbate other problems.
Take transport. You have to go to where the bandwidth is to work. This means that you have to invest in road and rail and cause huge pollution.
Then there's education, the pressure on schools where the best bandwidth is will increase.
Then employment. You're naturally moving it to expensive, inflated areas where businesses will become less competitive because if rental inflation.
Needless to say, the pressure on other services, from electricity to water increases too.
Economically, it would make far more sense to centre these broadband super areas in places like the South Wales valleys or North Kent.
But that would involve politicians using some imagination and common sense, wouldn't it?
The problem with concentrating yet more bandwidth capacity in places which are already over-served is that you exacerbate other problems.
Take transport. You have to go to where the bandwidth is to work. This means that you have to invest in road and rail and cause huge pollution.
Then there's education, the pressure on schools where the best bandwidth is will increase.
Then employment. You're naturally moving it to expensive, inflated areas where businesses will become less competitive because if rental inflation.
Needless to say, the pressure on other services, from electricity to water increases too.
Economically, it would make far more sense to centre these broadband super areas in places like the South Wales valleys or North Kent.
But that would involve politicians using some imagination and common sense, wouldn't it?