Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed has welcomed the Government decision to confirm that universal high speed broadband will be delivered by a regulatory Universal Service Obligation (USO), giving everyone in the UK access to speeds of at least 10 Mbps by 2020.
This is the speed that Ofcom, the independent regulator, says is needed to meet the requirements of an average family. After careful consideration the government has decided that regulation is the best way of making sure everyone in the UK can get a decent broadband connection of at least 10 Mbps as soon as possible.
Following the creation of new powers when the Government passed the Digital Economy Act 2017, the Government launched a consultation on the design of the regulatory USO in the summer. The Government will now set out the design for a legal right to high speed broadband in secondary legislation early next year, alongside a detailed response to the consultation.
Anne-Marie said “I welcome this decision for people across north Northumberland. It is a very positive step forward and I am glad the Government has opted to take the regulatory USO rather a voluntary agreement with BT. I have been campaigning for the Universal Service Obligation for a number of years and have been pressing Ministers to ensure that everyone has a legal right to Broadband and the decision is testament to the strength of feeling on this issue. I would like to thank all the constituents who took part in the consultation and who wrote to me on this matter as it has clearly made a real difference in this decision. It is further proof that people in our local communities can have a real effect on Government policy and by working together we can engineer positive change for our local area.”
“This decision guarantees a level of service such as we receive with water and electricity and this is nothing less than people in north Northumberland deserve. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t more to do but the Minister has assured me in the House of Commons today that we will be continuing to drive that fibre to every corner of the constituency in 2018.”
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For more information on the Universal Service Obligation Decision, please visit - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/high-speed-broadband-to-become-a-legal-right
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To read Anne-Marie questioning Ministers at Culture, Digital, Media and Sport Question in the House of Commons on Thursday 21st December then please click Here