Break up BT

SIR – Whether at home or work, fast broadband should be a reality in all our communities.

Sadly, this is not yet the case. A new report from the British Infrastructure Group of MPs reveals that despite the £1.7 billion of taxpayers’ cash pumped into subsidising the construction of UK high-speed broadband, there are still a staggering 5.7 million people across Britain who cannot access the internet at the Ofcom-required 10 megabits per second. But the situation is even worse for business, with 42 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises reporting problems with their internet connection, at an estimated £11 billion cost to the British economy.

Today’s report, “BroadBad”, calls on the regulator Ofcom to take radical action over the “natural monopoly” too long enjoyed by BT Openreach. The report, which details connection speeds in every part of the country, argues that, given our economy’s reliance on the internet, it is time to stop being held back by BT’s lack of ambition and under-investment.

We believe that Britain should be leading the world in digital innovation. Yet instead we have a monopoly company clinging to outdated copper technology with no proper long-term plan for the future. We need to start converting to a fully fibre network so we are not left behind other nations which are rushing to embrace digital advancement.

However, we will only achieve this by taking action to open up the sector. Given all the delays and missed deadlines, we believe only a formal separation of BT from Openreach, combined with fresh competition and a concerted ambition to deliver, will now create the broadband service that our constituents and businesses so rightly demand. Grant Shapps MP (Con) Helen Goodman MP (Lab) Alistair Carmichael (Lib Dem) Douglas Carswell MP (Ukip)

and 117 others: see telegraph.co.uk