Broadband: Universal Service Obligation

Lord Fox Excerpts

Monday 19th March 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Fox]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in implementing the universal service obligation for broadband.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Lord Ashton of Hyde) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government have considered different options for the design of the broadband universal service obligation and have carried out a public consultation on its proposed design. Having completed their consideration of the many responses received, the Government will shortly be laying secondary legislation setting out the scope of the broadband USO. The Government’s response to the consultation and the impact assessment will be published at the same time. Ofcom will be responsible for implementing the USO, which is expected to take up to two years.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his Answer. As he knows, there is an awful lot of concentration on download speeds but for the digital economy, upload is very important too. It is particularly poor in rural areas, and your Lordships do not have to take my word for it. The Secretary of State for Defra, Michael Gove, speaking to the NFU, recently said:

“It is unjustifiable … that broadband provision is so patchy and poor in so many areas”.


Can the Minister explain how a new approach will do away with this patchiness and poverty of connection in the countryside?