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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the average broadband requirement of a family all of whom are working and studying from home.

In order to ensure that households have the connectivity they need during Covid-19, the Government and Ofcom agreed a set of commitments with the telecoms industry in March 2020. In recognition of increased data needs, data limits were removed on all fixed broadband connections.

Government and Ofcom’s view is that a minimum of 10Mbps download and 1Mbps upload fixed broadband speeds is sufficient for households to undertake regular online activity and view streaming services, whilst supporting multiple users in a household.

As such, any consumer who is unable to receive these speeds is entitled to request a connection as part of the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO). The USO speeds are kept under review. The USO is intended as a digital “safety net” for premises that currently lack a decent broadband connection. According to Ofcom’s Connection Nations Report 2020, broadband connections that deliver this minimum speed are available to 99.4% of UK premises.

There is also good coverage of higher broadband speeds available to most households. According to thinkbroadband.com, 97% can access speeds of 24Mbps and over, and 96% 30Mbps and over.