Bexhill and Battle MP, Huw Merriman, has spoken in the House of Commons for residents to be given more detail as to how they can benefit from the Government’s recent announcement that every person will have a legal right to fast broadband subject to a ‘reasonable cost’ element.—Huw Merriman, 15 June 2016
Huw noted that the new right to fast broadband would be welcomed by constituents, especially those living in rural and hard to reach areas who currently have poor or limited broadband coverage.
However, he also noted that these constituents will want to know how the ‘reasonable cost’ element would be set.
Huw therefore asked the Minister responsible for broadband roll-out, Ed Vaizey MP, if the ‘reasonable cost’ level would take into account the realistic costs of providing faster broadband services to a rural community, rather than the lower costs associated with upgrading more urban areas.
He went on to ask the Minister to ensure that the ‘reasonable cost’ test would be satisfied if it could be achieved by cheaper internet providers if BT Openreach, who are responsible for the roll-out in East Sussex, could not deliver within the same costing.
He said “I want to ensure that this legal right to broadband is a right which those who need it can actually qualify for. If the ‘reasonable cost’ is set at too low a level then it will not be delivered for many of my constituents. My concern is that if BT Openreach, decide that the cost of providing broadband to a household exceeds the ‘reasonable cost’ element, then it won’t be delivered.
“However, if a cheaper alternative provider could deliver to the same household within the ‘reasonable cost’ level, then I believe BT Openreach should have to deliver it. This will not only give more of my constituents access to broadband but would open up a market which is heavily dominated by BT Openreach. The Minister has promised that he will look at this point when deciding how the policy will be rolled out.”
Over the past year, MPs in rural constituencies have been calling for the Government to speed up the roll-out of broadband to areas who currently cannot access it.
In East Sussex, the County Council is delivering new broadband connections with BT Openreach over an area of 660 square miles to almost 70,000 postcodes via 1000 kilo metres of fibre (the distance between Brighton and Berlin).
The MP for Bexhill and Battle M Pis holding a Broadband Conference later this year to enable Parish and Town Councils to meet with broadband providers and to find out if there are solutions which will deliver broadband to their community.
Huw added “I have spent a large amount of my first year in Parliament calling for the Government and BT Openreach to deliver plans to enable homes to get access to broadband. The new legal right to broadband is a step forward but I am keen to ensure that we harness the full range of legal and technological solutions to make this a reality.”
