A leading cable expert is calling out to the Government to accelerate its nationwide broadband roll-out programme before the UK lags even further behind the rest of the world.

Roger Webster, managing director of Nottingham-based Webro Cables & Connectors, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this month, believes the planned investment in the UK broadband infrastructure is a very positive move for the country, but it needs to be pushed forward quickly so it can keep up with the new digital age.

“Now the election has come and gone and we have a new era in Government, we need to drive forward the plans and catch up with the rest of the world, growing the number of households with broadband access,” explained Roger.

“In 2009 there were 466.95 million* broadband customers in the world and only 18,356,000 of those were in the UK. We’re sixth in the world in terms of broadband user figures but we’re behind other thriving countries such as US, Japan and China.

“The funding programme behind the Government’s plan for broadband roll-out is a subject of much debate but wherever that money comes from, the value of the results will undoubtedly outweigh the investment.”

Webro has a 30-year legacy in the coaxial, telecom, security and fibre optic industries. It supplies the top five UK TV and satellite distributors and its coaxial cables are used in many different systems, applications and industries from top hotel chains, caravan sites and high security systems to protect both people and property to the Highways Agency and the London Underground network, for which it is Link-Up certified.

Roger added: “Fibre is a far bigger growth market than was first anticipated and we’re working with companies such as Sky and doing what we can to help push forward this growth in new technology. But we need other companies and the Government to play its part too.

“The development of more new housing and the simultaneous laying of fibre cables are helping to push the country forward in its development of broadband access. However, the country’s slow take up of fibre to date will continue to cause major bottlenecks unless additional investment plans are driven quickly forward.

“The UK is hampered by the legacy of aging copper installations and needs to continue to push out the laying of fibre optic cables to bring super fast broadband to as many homes, schools and businesses as possible. This is especially important with the rise in population of applications such as the BBC iPlayer and social networking.”

Roger concluded: “We’re living in an exciting digital age and the UK should be leading the pack in terms of broadband development and infrastructure.”

For further information about Webro’s cable and connector products, please visit the website at www.webro.com.