MPS: force internet firms to tell residents about telegraph poles

Internet providers should be forced to consult residents about broadband infrastructure such as telegraph poles being built near their homes, a group of MPS has said.

Dame Diana Johnson, Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull North, has tabled a Private Members’ bill in response to protests from homeowners angry about equipment being installed without detailed notification before the work began.

In one incident in Hull, a new pole carrying overhead wires was chopped down, while some residents have washed away the blue marks left by engineers that show where a pole needs to be erected.

The Telecommunications Infrastructure (Consultation) Bill, which is being co-sponsored by Hull’s other MPS Emma Hardy and Karl Turner, will make it compulsory for firms to discuss their plans with residents.

Planning rules were relaxed in 2017 to encourage broadband companies to upgrade their networks to full-fibre broadband. It means that firms don’t have to get planning approval from local councils for either the equipment they install or where they plan to put it.

The only notification companies must give is a notice tied to a lamppost, or a letter sent to residents who will have poles built on or near to their property.

Companies typically use telegraph poles in areas where it would be too difficult or expensive to dig trenches and lay cables. But this work has angered residents across the UK, triggering complaints in Fife, Peterlee, Southampton, Surrey and Totnes.

The bill is expected to be debated in the autumn. It’s not known whether it will include other types of broadband equipment such as streetside cabinets.