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

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 9 April 2019 to Question 240967 on Broadband, whether people throughout the UK will have access to high speed broadband by the end of 2020.

On the 20th March, the Universal Service Obligation will come into effect, giving all citizens the right to request a ‘decent broadband’ service, up to a reasonable cost threshold.

This initiative, combined with greater commercial availability of broadband services of all types, will provide a ‘safety net’ for broadband provision in the UK.

Progress on the rollout of broadband services continues apace across the UK. The commercial rollout of Gigabit-Capable Networks is accelerating, with more than 10% of the UK now covered with full-fibre services. Superfast services are now available to more than 96% of the UK population. Mobile broadband coverage is also improving, and should benefit from the Shared Rural Network programme.