Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of urban properties are unable to access fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband and qualify for assistance under the universal service obligation.
The Ofcom Connected Nations Report 2019 found that 1% of all urban properties (approximately 161,000 premises) in the UK were unable to access a fixed broadband connection that met the minimum speed thresholds under the Universal Service Obligation (USO). However, the vast majority of these premises are likely to be able to access a 4G or 5G mobile service that provides USO level download and upload speeds or higher and will not therefore be eligible for an upgraded connection under the Universal Service Obligation.