Broadband

(asked on 16th July 2021) - View Source

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 implications for his policies of the findings of CircleLoop which placed the UK 28th in the world for broadband speeds; and what steps he is taking to accelerate full-fibre and 5G rollout.


Answered by
Matt Warman Portrait
Matt Warman
This question was answered on 26th July 2021

CircleLoop’s 'Connected Countries’ report ranks countries using average download speed data, rather than the maximum speed available. Given the pace of the gigabit rollout in the UK, it is understandable that in some cases consumers may wish to wait until their current contract ends before seeking higher speeds.

The government remains committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Today, over two in five premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just one in ten in November 2019. By the end of the year, 60% will have access to a gigabit network, and we are on track to achieving a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025.

It is the government's view that the best way to achieve nationwide gigabit coverage is to remove barriers to deployment and create a competition-friendly environment in areas where deployment is commercially viable, while focussing government funds on the 20% of the country where commercial deployment is unlikely. To support the hardest-to-reach areas, we have launched Project Gigabit, our £5bn programme to ensure these areas receive gigabit coverage within the same timescales as the rest of the country.

5G Network deployment plans are a matter for the mobile network operators, but the government is undertaking a number of actions to support this. We will shortly publish our response to the consultation on potential reforms to the Electronic Communications Code, which sought views on how we can better facilitate the deployment of new networks, including 5G. Alongside this, we have also consulted on reforms to the planning system to support 5G deployment and extend mobile coverage, and we intend to publish our response to the consultation and bring forward legislation in the Autumn.

We are confident that through these actions we will achieve our 5G rollout ambitions for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027.

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