Broadband: Rural Areas

(asked on 18th March 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2021 to Question 166424 on Broadband: Finance, whether he hlans to directly subsidise the cost of gigabit broadband in rural areas for (a) consumers and (b) businesses.


Answered by
Matt Warman Portrait
Matt Warman
This question was answered on 23rd March 2021

The government is proposing to directly subsidise the cost of deploying gigabit capable broadband networks in harder to reach areas, including rural areas, through its £5 billion Project Gigabit programme.

At a retail level, BT, Virgin, Hyperoptic and KCOM all offer competitive social tariff packages for those on certain means-tested benefits which offer low cost landline and broadband services. In light of the pandemic, the government is encouraging providers who do not currently offer a social tariff product to also do so.

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