By 2020 the Universal Service Obligation (USO) will give everyone the legal right to high speed broadband of at least 10Mbps.<\/p>
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We created new powers for this in the Digital Economy Act 2017, and subsequently ran a public consultation on the design of the USO, which we will be setting in secondary legislation very shortly.<\/p>
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Ofcom will then be responsible for implementing the USO, including designating the universal service providers and the design of an industry cost-sharing fund.<\/p>
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The USO is demand-led, and will, upon request, allow anyone who does not have a connection that meets the minimum specification from a designated provider, no matter where they live or work, up to a reasonable cost threshold.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4115", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Margot James"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stourbridge"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Margot James"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-03-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-03-26T14:59:00.033Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-03-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Broadband: Universal Service Obligation"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on preparations to implement the broadband universal service obligation; if he will prioritise the allocation of broadband funding for areas with (a) very slow and (b) no connections; and if he will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1200", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Greg Knight"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Yorkshire"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Sir Greg Knight"} ], "uin" : "133690"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/838543", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/838543/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
10Mbps is the minimum download speed that Ofcom says is needed to meet the typical needs of an average family. This will enable simultaneous live streaming of television, video calling, emailing and basic web browsing. Consumers on connections of less than 10Mbps tend to use less data, suggesting that internet usage is constrained below this speed.<\/p>
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Download speed is not the only quality requirement to be included in the proposed Universal Service Obligation (USO) specification. We have also proposed to include within the specification requirements for upload speed, contention (how many premises are using the network), latency (delays) and data capacity, which can all impact on what a consumer can do online.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4115", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Margot James"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stourbridge"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Margot James"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-02-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-02-20T16:35:11.717Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-02-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Broadband: Universal Service Obligation"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons 10mbps was chosen as the broadband speed for the universal service obligation.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/55", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Desmond Swayne"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "New Forest West"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Sir Desmond Swayne"} ], "uin" : "127363"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/833081", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/833081/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
<\/p> There is a difference between what we define as the download speed, or sync speed, and the actual speed end users experience. The sync speed is the maximum speed that is achievable on the connection between the network and the premises. In reality, the actual speed that is provided to an end user is typically lower than the sync speed and this will vary depending on the number of other people using the network at that point in time. The specification that we consulted on was for a sync speed of at least 10Mbps. Ofcom says that a 10Mbps sync speed meets the needs of a typical household.<\/ins><\/p> <\/p>"}
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The Department is currently undertaking evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme\u2019s role in improving broadband connectivity and reaching areas that would otherwise not have been reached through commercial plans. The evaluation is focusing on the economic and social impacts of the programme, including the impact of the superfast programme on business performance and growth, employment, on quality of life and the reduction in benefits claimants in areas that would have lost out to higher connectivity areas, if it were not for the programme.<\/del><\/p>The Department released The UK Broadband Impact Study in 2013 which made an assessment of the impacts of faster broadband including the economic impacts. The study can be accessed on the Department's website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-broadband-impact-study--2). The Department will be producing results from the current evaluation in 2018.<\/del><\/p>