Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing fiscal incentives to support private investment in rural broadband networks, in the context of the Physical Infrastructure Access pricing structure.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.

For this reason, while my officials are engaging with Ofcom on this issue, the Department has not made any specific assessment of the merits of introducing fiscal incentives to reduce how much rural operators pay for PIA.

My officials are regularly engaging with Ofcom to ensure that we have the right regulatory environment in place to promote competition and investment in the fibre roll-out.