The Queen’s Speech opening the new parliamentary session refers to “gigabit-capable broadband” but without indicating an exact timeframe for delivery.
Background: Since appointment as leader of the Conservative Party and UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has stated his willingness to accelerate the pace of high-speed broadband deployment in the UK. In July 2019, he pledged “full-fibre broadband” for all by 2025 – moving the target forward by eight years compared to the 2033 objective as it stood. This was replaced by a more generic reference to “gigabit broadband” in the Queen’s Speech of October 2019, to be achieved “as soon as possible”. The 2025 target resurfaced in the Conservative’s manifesto ahead of the recent general election, with the promise to deliver “full-fibre and gigabit-capable broadband” to every home.
The timetable becomes unclear again: A new Queen’s Speech opened the parliamentary session following the general election. The speech referred to new laws that “will accelerate the delivery of gigabit capable broadband”. More detail is included in the Background Briefing document, with a Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill and a Telecommunications (Connectivity) Bill. The objective is to achieve nationwide coverage “as soon as possible” without indicating any specific date. Nonetheless, the document specifies the purposes of the legislation, which will facilitate operators in obtaining access rights to install broadband connections and will ensure new homes support gigabit-capable connections.
Recent funding pledges are reiterated: Other sections of the background briefing restate commitments the government recently made. One of them is the £5bn fund to support rollout of gigabit-capable broadband in the hardest-to-reach 20% of the country. In the next two years to 2021, the government also committed £650m to stimulate market demand and deployment through the Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund, the Local Full Fibre Networks Programme, the Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme, and the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.
A law on online harms is also on the cards: Another noteworthy aspect of today’s Queen’s Speech is the commitment to legislation that will “improve internet safety for all”. This will follow on the Online Harms White Paper published by the government in April 2019, which proposed a new duty of care for online companies towards end users, and setting up an independent regulator to oversee the framework. The government is now examining the responses to the consultation that followed, which will inform the legislation it will prepare. In the meantime, the government will publish codes of practice for companies to tackle terrorist content and child abuse so that companies can take action before legislation is passed.
