Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department is providing to support the development and innovation of (a) pure fibre and (b) FTTP broadband delivery technology in rural areas.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Through the Government’s investment of over £780 million, superfast broadband is now available to 90% of homes and businesses in the UK, compared to 45% in 2010. By the end of 2017 it will be available to 95% of homes and businesses. An increasing proportion of the additional coverage to be delivered in rural areas will be provided through fibre to the premises (FTTP).
Asked by: Luke Hall (Conservative - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will provide details of what additional (a) support and (b) resources his Department is providing to assist South Gloucestershire Council in meeting its universal broadband obligations.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government has implemented a basic broadband scheme to enable all premises to gain access to speeds of at least 2Mbps. This enables residents to gain access to every Government service available online. Funding for subsidised connections through the scheme is provided by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) as part of the government's superfast broadband programme. Consumers in eligible premises can access services from any of the suppliers who have been entered onto the scheme by BDUK.
In addition it is the Government's intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation. This will give people the legal right to request a broadband connection, no matter where they live, by the end of this Parliament. Our ambition is that this should initially be set at 10 Mbps.