Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that broadband customers in rural Northern Ireland receive the same guarantee of minimum speeds as other parts of the UK.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement entitled "Universal Broadband" made on 20th December. Once the broadband USO has been implemented, consumers across the UK will have a legal right to request from a designated provider, who has a legal obligation to supply, a broadband connection of at least 10Mbps, up to a reasonable cost threshold.