The demand for ever faster Internet speeds has brought us to a point where the aging copper-based telephone network can no longer deliver. This means the time has come to replace the current infrastructure with something fit for the future - and that means fibre-optic cabling for fixed locations.

This provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the most appropriate model to deliver this new world. Is the assumption that people areconsumers and that incumbent operators are the safest hands correct - or is there a better way?

After all, whatever NGN (Next Generation Network) model is adopted sets the agenda for the next several generations - perhaps a 100 years and beyond, based on the longevity of legacy copper/electricity based infrastructure.

Deploying fibre to the premises (FttP) creates an inevitable natural monopoly - it would normally be commercial madness to invest in a competing infrastructure when a consumer will naturally only buy from one provider at a time.

This is one of the powerful arguments we believe suggests that a new model of ownership is more appropriate - one that avoids the risk of anew all-powerful incumbent operator with an ownership base divergentfrom the local community that is obliged to make use of the naturalmonopoly infrastructure.

At CBN are leading the effort in the UK and abroad to deliver true Next Generation Broadband.