Broadband

(asked on 6th January 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of classifying broadband as an essential utility.


Answered by
Matt Warman Portrait
Matt Warman
This question was answered on 15th January 2021

The Government believes that a fast, reliable broadband network is essential, which is why we are committed to ensuring nationwide gigabit-capable broadband as soon as possible. We are making good progress towards this target, with around 1 in 3 UK premises now able to access a gigabit-capable connection according to the latest figures from Ofcom and ThinkBroadband.

With regards to classifying broadband as an essential utility, operators already have strong rights to support rollout of new fibre. We are proposing to further strengthen these rights following through the Telecoms Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill, which aims to make it easier for providers to connect tenanted properties where there are unresponsive landlords. Alongside this, we are committed to consulting on further reforms to the Electronic Communications Code, the statutory framework underpinning the rights of telecoms operators to deploy digital infrastructure on public and private land.

The Government will continue to take action to support gigabit rollout in other ways. For example, in harder to reach areas, we are investing £5 billion through our UK Gigabit Programme.

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