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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the date by which OneWeb will be able to provide rural broadband for the whole of the UK.

The government is investing £5 billion to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to the hardest to reach 20% of premises in the UK. Our approach is technologically neutral but, at present, satellite broadband does not meet the technical specification for funding under the £5 billion programme.

OneWeb was acquired by a consortium led by the UK Government and the Bharti Group in October 2020: both investing $500 million for 42%, creating a $1 billion equity investment. This is not part of the government’s £5 billion investment to deliver gigabit-capable broadband. OneWeb’s LEO satellite constellation will deliver high-speed, low latency internet both in the UK and internationally. This is an opportunity for the UK to promote its interests globally - with access to a global fleet of satellites that have the potential to connect people across the globe, providing broadband from the Shetlands to the Sahara and from Pole to Pole. OneWeb has launched a total fleet of 110 satellites in orbit and is currently scheduled to commence commercial services by the end of 2021, with global coverage planned for 2022.