Heathrow third runway 'like having a dial-up connection to the Internet of Things' says Mayor of London transport adviser

Losing contact with the wider world will adversely affect tech industry, says Daniel Moylan

A new London airport - rather than expansions of Heathrow or Gatwick - is crucial to help the UK tech industry keep up with the Internet of Things revolution, the Mayor of London's transport adviser, Daniel Moylan, has said. Otherwise, we risk "having a dial-up connection to the Internet of Things" in terms of the UK's place in a burgeoning sector.

Speaking at Tech London Advocates' Joining the Dots digital infrastructure conference in London today, Moylan stated that a more decisive move than just new runways was essential to keep transport time for technology imports and exports competitive.

"Where we are at the moment is like having a dial-up connection to the Internet of Things," said Moylan, "because if you cannot get more high-branded products into those global supply chains, you're left out, and that's what's going to happen to this country.

"Half of Britain's international exports outside the EU - by value - go by air, and most of them go in passenger jets, as the freight sector isn't very large in aviation," explained Moylan, who also sits on the board of Transport for London, as well as advising Boris Johnson on the planned Crossrail 2 London rail transport project.

"And we're not going to solve that by having a third runway at Heathrow, because it's not politically or environmentally acceptable," he continued.

"You don't build airports in residential suburbs - you move them, and you release the land for housing."

Moylan spoke of the need for a "proper hub airport" with "high levels of connectivity", including a higher frequency of flights and destinations.

"You can only do that with an environmentally-friendly airport with room to grow. Heathrow is not the answer to that - it's a life expired asset," he said.

"I don't think there's a choice about it - there's a very high likelihood that our hub export - which is already being exported to Amsterdam anyway - will be in a foreign country," said Moylan.

"That means access to the wider world will require two flights, and that affects London, and that has a big impact, in my view, on the Internet of Things, which is also about things.

"To sum up, you have got to rally for money for Cross Rail 2, and you have got to say that you need the right answer when voting comes out in the next few months on aviation," Moylan told delegates.

A subsequent question and answer session saw Moylan asked whether the so-called "Boris Island" project - the latest incarnation of a long-discussed Thames Estuary airport - was "off the table".

"Only by Sir Howard Davies [who led an inquiry commission into the project's viability], who's not running it, and has been told to stop the government thinking and talking about this for a couple of years," replied Moylan, who is also a Conservative councillor for Kensington and Chelsea.

"Whoever is in power next - if anyone's in power," said Moylan, with a smile, "will see this problem arrive right back on their desks, and with your help we need to address the fact we need a proper airport."

Do you believe airports and the Internet of Things - and indeed the wider UK IT industry - are as related as Moylan claims, or was today's session merely an attempt to win pre-election financial and vocal support from influential industry investors?