Asked by: Earl Cathcart (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the UK Digital Strategy published on 1 March, and their long-standing commitment to fast broadband, when all remote rural areas can expect to receive broadband speeds better than 1.5 megabits per second; and when they will implement the new Universal Service Obligation, announced on 6 December 2016, providing a legal right to request affordable, fast broadband on demand at 10 megabits per second.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We have committed to introducing the new broadband Universal Service Obligation in this Parliament, giving everyone the legal right to request a connection of at least 10Mbps, which will meet the typical needs of a UK household and support small businesses.
All homes and businesses can now gain access to broadband speeds of 2 Megabits per second (mbps) through the Government’s Better Broadband Scheme (https://basicbroadbandchecker.culture.gov.uk/). 2mbps is sufficient to access every government service online.
Through the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme, the similarly named Better Broadband for Norfolk scheme is bringing superfast broadband access to homes and businesses across the county. The BDUK superfast broadband programme only invests where there is no commercial superfast provision now or planned in the next 3 years and seeks to maximise the value from public investment, by upgrading the greatest number of premises for the least amount of public money required. We understand you have a particular interest in the village of Gately. Although Gately is not currently in an active phase, there will be later phases funded by gain-share and project savings which may increase coverage in the village.
It is worth noting that most of the village is already served by the fixed wireless provider WiSpire, who advertise speeds of up to 40Mbps, although this would be dependent on various issues such as the local topography. A more accurate estimation can be obtained by contacting WiSpire directly. A link to their website can be found here: https://wispire.co.uk/. Other providers are also available in the area, such as Thinking Wisp: http://www.thinkingwisp.co.uk/, who may also be able to provide a service.