UK MPs cast doubt on national gigabit broadband plan
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Faye Sutton
| 22 December 2020
The UK government is set to miss even its scaled back targets to roll out gigabit broadband across the UK according to a report from the UK's Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee.
BT openreach 17 Sep 2020

The warning comes as the UK government launches a consultation on the draft procurement strategy for its UK Gigabit Programme, setting out plans to connect the first one million homes and businesses with gigabit speed broadband and maximise coverage in the hardest to reach 20% of the UK by 2025.

It follows the announcement in November 2020 that the government was rolling back its original plan to deliver gigabit broadband to “every home” by 2025 to “minimum of 85% coverage” by 2025; a move that was criticised by the UK broadband industry. The budget of the plan remains at the £5 billion, set out as a manifesto commitment by the UK government a year ago, but only £1.2 billion of that sum will be made available up until 2024.

The DCMS Committee Report on Broadband and the road to 5G is the result of an inquiry examining the Government’s pledge to ensure every home and business in the UK has gigabit-capable broadband by 2025. It considered evidence on how realistic the ambition was, what would be needed to achieve it, and what the Government’s target would mean for businesses and consumers. It also looked at what role 5G technology might play, what initiatives such as the Shared Rural Network mean for improving mobile connectivity across the UK as well as the impact of Covid-19 on the roll-out of full-fibre and 5G infrastructure.

in a withering assessment of the UK government's plans, even though the committee recognised that the pandemic also put enormous pressure on public finances, it said that was nonetheless a surprise when the Government abandoned its commitment to nationwide gigabit-capable broadband by 2025 in the National Infrastructure Strategy, and set out, in the Spending Review, plans to distribute only 25% of the £5 billion it had committed for gigabit-capable broadband.

It added that the UK Government’s decision to revise the target down to 85%, just weeks after MPs had been reassured of their commitment to it, was a belated recognition that it was unrealistic. It said: "Even meeting the revised target will be a challenge, as it still requires industry to roll-out infrastructure at considerable pace. The Government’s target for majority 5G coverage by 2027 is equally ambitious, especially following the rulings on the use of equipment by high- risk vendors. There is a risk that industry’s roll-out of 5G technology will repeat the legacy of mobile ‘not-spots’. As views differ on the technologies that should be used to deliver gigabit-capable broadband, the Government must clarify its plans for delivering its targets, updating us on progress over the coming years, and explain what the severe reduction in funding for infrastructure will mean and when it expects the remaining 15% of premises to be served with gigabit-capable broadband."

Responding, the UK government said that going forward homes and businesses that do not yet have access to superfast broadband will be prioritised, and it hopes that by accelerating its approach to awarding contracts for the scheme, that every telecoms provider - from the very small to very large - can take part.

The consultation anticipates up to 26 large regions of England that are most likely to attract commercial investment but require subsidy to reach the hardest 40,000 to 80,000 premises in each area. The government expects larger broadband suppliers, including challengers to incumbents, to bid for these areas and prioritise people with slow speeds. The UK government says it will work closely with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from early 2021 to develop plans to complement these contracts and extend gigabit coverage across the UK.

“Today we’ve set out our bold programme of national infrastructure projects to future-proof the UK’s internet networks so we can build back better from coronavirus and create new jobs and economic opportunities," said Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure. “We will begin these procurements rapidly so broadband providers big and small can move quickly to get the job done and level up communities with this much faster, next generation broadband.”