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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of upload speeds needed by small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) the creative and digital and (b) other sectors.

Connectivity requirements will vary depending on the size of SME and type of business. Creative industries companies, for example, need high data rates to send and receive large quantities of digital content. In November 2014, Ofcom issued a call for inputs from SMEs on current levels of availability, choice and quality of service. The responses received will inform a report in Spring 2015 on how the market for fixed and mobile connectivity is serving SMEs. The Broadband Stakeholder Group also plans to commission research into the current and future broadband needs of small businesses.