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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of a streamlined negotiation process for access agreements under the Electronic Communications Code to allow for the installation of full fibre broadband in Multi Dwelling Units.

The Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act gained Royal Assent in March 2021. This Act aims to address one stated policy barrier: making it easier for telecoms companies to access multi-dwelling units - such as blocks of flats - where a tenant has requested a new connection, but the landlord has not responded to requests for access rights.

The Act inserts a new Part 4A to the Electronic Communication Code which provides a process that telecommunications operators could use to gain code rights to multi-dwelling premises for a defined period. This only applies where:

• a lessee in occupation in a multi-dwelling building has requested a telecommunications service from an operator.

• to connect the property the telecoms operator requires an access agreement with another person such as the landlord.

• the landlord has not responded to the telecoms operator’s request for access.

My Department published a consultation which sought views on the terms which will accompany the interim Code rights provided to operators who have successfully applied for an order made under Part 4A of the Electronic Communications Code. The consultation closed on Wednesday 4 August. Responses are being considered and the consultation response will be published in due course, with regulations laid as soon as possible.