Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the 500,000 properties currently unable to access a broadband service running at a minimum of 10Mbps via a fixed line will be able to access broadband.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has set out its plan to deliver Project Gigabit, our £5 billion mission to deliver fast, reliable broadband across the UK, and we are making good progress. Our target is for 85% of UK premises to have access to gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, and over 99% by 2030. This will include some premises currently unable to access more than 10Mbps.
More than £1 billion of public subsidy has been made available to broadband suppliers to extend their gigabit-capable networks to rural and hard to reach parts of the country. To date, we have awarded six contracts in locations from Cornwall to Cumbria, and we have launched a further 15 procurements, which combined will deliver fast, reliable broadband to up to 748,000 premises that would have otherwise missed out.
Furthermore, while approximately 500,000 premises do not currently have access to a decent broadband connection of 10mbps download and 1mbps upload, of these approximately 420,000 have access to a Fixed Wireless Access connection offering at least this level of connectivity. A further 15,000 of the remaining 80,000 premises are due to receive an upgrade within the next 12 months from a government funded rollout.
For the remaining 65,000 premises, the broadband Universal Service Obligation, which came into effect on 20 March 2020, provides consumers with a right to request a decent broadband service, where they cannot access a service of at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload via either a fixed line or fixed wireless access connection. As of September 2022, BT has built USO connections to over 5,900 premises, with more than 2,000 further builds in progress.
For the small number of premises that will not receive a gigabit-capable connection and are considered Very Hard to Reach, the government is assessing alternative ways to improve their broadband connection and help address the challenges that these areas face in their broadband connectivity.
In December 2022 we announced the first four locations in our Alpha Trial programme to test the technical capability of, and user response to, new low-latency Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites in some of the hardest to reach locations in the UK and we are working to finalise further locations soon.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use 4G coverage, which covers 99 per cent of the country, as an alternative to fibre to provide access to broadband in remote rural areas.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Project Gigabit is the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver fast, reliable broadband across the UK. Over 74% of UK premises can now access a gigabit-capable broadband connection, up from just 6% in January 2019. As part of Project Gigabit, we are targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025, and then seek to get as close to 100% as possible.
Project Gigabit is technology neutral and therefore can use a Fixed Wireless Access solution such as 4G subject to the relevant eligibility criteria and performance requirements being met.
Ofcom estimates that at least 95% of premises are already able to access a 4G Fixed Wireless Access solution from a commercial provider, with some wireless technologies already able to offer an ultrafast, or gigabit-capable, connection that offers substantial capacity and low latency. Ofcom also assesses with high confidence that 5G data services from at least one provider are available to at least 77% of UK premises.
The government believes that a small proportion of premises, likely less than 100,000, may require an alternative solution to gigabit-capable connectivity and are therefore considered ‘Very Hard to Reach’.
The government is therefore exploring with industry all possible options for improving broadband connectivity in remote rural areas and is considering all available technology types, including 4G and 5G Fixed Wireless Access solutions, to address premises in these areas.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to offer financial incentives to enable the use of 4G coverage to provide access to broadband in remote rural areas.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Project Gigabit is the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver fast, reliable broadband across the UK. Over 74% of UK premises can now access a gigabit-capable broadband connection, up from just 6% in January 2019. As part of Project Gigabit, we are targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025, and then seek to get as close to 100% as possible.
Project Gigabit is technology neutral and therefore can use a Fixed Wireless Access solution, including those based on 4G or 5G, subject to the relevant eligibility criteria and performance requirements being met.
Support is also available for homes and businesses in rural areas through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. The scheme provides a subsidy of up to £4,500 for residents and businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. To date, almost 84,000 vouchers have been used to connect premises to gigabit-capable broadband. Vouchers can be used for projects incorporating a wireless element, subject to them meeting the defined performance criteria.
The broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) is also technology neutral so BT and KCOM, as the Universal Service Providers, can offer customers who are eligible for the USO a 4G or 5G Fixed Wireless Access solution if one is presently available.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the £3,400 limit per property to install broadband as set out in the Universal Service Obligation for Broadband, launched in March 2020, given the widening digital divide.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The technical specifications and cost thresholds of the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) aim to ensure that it remains relevant over time to meet the rising needs of consumers' expectations and demands, providing them with a safety net of provision to ensure effective participation in society and the economy.
The Communications Act 2003 includes an automatic request for the Secretary of State to give direction to Ofcom to review the USO once at least 75% of premises in the UK subscribe to a broadband service that provides download speeds of at least 30 Mbps. As of September 2022, Ofcom reports that 70% of premises are subscribed to such a service. We continue to liaise with Ofcom on uptake relative to the trigger, and on the broadband USO.
Under S72A Communication Act 2003, it is the responsibility of Ofcom, upon such direction, to ‘review and report...on any provision made, or that may be made, by the universal service order’ including the cost of a broadband connection.