High speed web pledge

Homes and businesses across all parts of the UK will benefit from universal high-speed broadband, the UK Culture Secretary has announced.

Karen Bradley said BT has put forward an offer to voluntarily provide the service, which would largely be delivered by Openreach.

It comes after this year’s Digital Economy Act set out a universal service obligation (USO), which the government committed to introducing.

Defining a minimum broadband download speed of 10Mbps, the regulatory USO would give every home and business the right to request this highspeed connection.

But the government has said that BT’S proposal means many premises would receive substantially more speed through a regulatory approach.

Ms Bradley said the government is “taking action” to ensure that people everywhere in the UK “can get a decent broadband con- 0 Karen Bradley welcomed move on broadband from BT nection as soon as possible”.

“We warmly welcome BT’S offer and now will look at whether this or a regulatory approach works better for homes and businesses,” she said.

“Whichever of the two approaches we go with in the end, the driving force behind our decision-making will be making sure we get the best deal for consumers.” The proposed minimum speed of 10Mbps is what a typical family needs for them to be able to simultaneously stream films, video conference and browse the web, the government said.

It will consider BT’S proposal alongside a consultation on introducing the regulatory USO, which was launched on Sunday.