Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of households that have access to broadband in Suffolk Coastal constituency.

According to Ofcom’s December 2023 Connected Nations report, over 95% of premises in the Suffolk Coastal constituency have access to a superfast connection, with 37% having access to a gigabit-capable connection. Only 2% of premises are unable to access a decent fixed broadband connection and may be able to get an improved connection through the Broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO).

The Broadband USO gives individuals the right to request a decent broadband connection. Consumers are deemed not to have a decent broadband connection if their current connection falls below 10Mbps download and 1Mbps upload; the cost of accessing a decent broadband connection is higher than £56.20 per month and they are not due to be connected by an existing government scheme within the next 12 months.

Consumers whose connections would cost more than the reasonable cost threshold covered by the USO (of £3,400), can choose to pay the excess cost (with crowdfunding options available).

The Government is rolling out Project Gigabit, a £5 billion mission to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to 99% of UK premises by 2030. This constituency is included in the Project Gigabit contract for Suffolk that was signed by the supplier CityFibre in June 2023.