Broadband rights

Sir,

I would like to tell you about a campaign which aims to increase awareness of the Universal Service Obligation for Broadband (USO) amongst consumers and pressure the Government to increase its efforts to improve broadband services to the most digitally deprived.

Unfortunately, while giving consumers the right to demand decent broadband, the USO regularly fails to help those in more remote and rural areas. The current scheme only provides maximum per property funding of £3,400 towards the cost of building or upgrading any necessary network infrastructure. This means that those whose properties are harder to access are expected to fork out their own money to cover any excess involved in providing them with an improved connection – and those additional costs all too frequently run into the many tens of thousands of pounds.

With over 600,000 premises in the UK still unable to access decent broadband via a fixed line, National Broadband is calling for the government to increase its support for alternative broadband solutions that can provide immediately improved broadband to those who are most digitally deprived in the UK and at a fraction of the cost of fibre.

There are still far too many people in homes across the country that are being left behind due a lack of access to decent broadband. The government frequently talks a good game about levelling up and closing the digital divide, but too often fails to deliver.

The current USO is a perfect case in point, as it all too frequently gives hope of an improved service to those suffering from shockingly slow broadband speeds and most in need of an improved service – but then leaves them facing astronomical costs to actually get better connectivity. We of course appreciate that in some locations installing fibre is unavoidably costly, but if the Government continues to ignore viable alternatives, then those most in need of improved broadband will carry on suffering.

David Hennell, business development director at National Broadband.