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 adequacy of the interaction between the Government’s Gigabit Programme subsidy plans and the geographic price regulation approach taken in Ofcom's Statement entitled Promoting investment and competition in fibre networks – Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review 2021-26.

On 18 March, Ofcom published its Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review, which sets broadband regulations for the 2021 to 2026 period. Ofcom’s proposals will encourage competitive build in the majority of the UK, and have secured a commitment from Openreach to extend its coverage in the least competitive areas of the country. We have engaged closely with Ofcom on our commitment to spend £5 billion supporting gigabit-capable deployment in the hardest to reach areas, in order to ensure we can deploy it most effectively to maximise gigabit coverage and ensure value for money.

The Government welcomes Ofcom’s regulatory framework, which will promote investment and competition in new gigabit broadband networks. Ofcom’s proposed regulations will allow those deploying networks to make a fair return on their investment whilst ensuring that customers across the country can continue to access world-class broadband at affordable prices.