Next-generation access is a key issue in avoiding the bandwidth crunch, but with BT's 21st century network (21CN) years from completion, it is not just the ISPs that ought to be concerned (iPlayer piling on the pressure on worried ISPs).

UK businesses that still run their communications through BT-based DSL or through ISPs that use the current BT network will inevitably start to feel the strain of outmoded copper wiring.

Even when 21CN is eventually unveiled, it must provide fibre to both the core and access networks
before it can offer a genuine next-generation network. Upgrading BT's access network will require significantly more investment, and the question of who will pay for it has yet to be understood.

We would welcome an  informed debate on how best to keep UK telecoms moving forward.

Stephen Beynon,
ntl:Telewest Business