High-speed broadband USO

Telecoms & Financial Services November 10 2015

A government pledge to establish a new universal service obligation for “fast” broadband has been welcomed by the union, but Ministers have been reminded that “serious investment” is needed to make sure the promise is kept.

In a statement released by his office, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Access to the internet shouldn’t be a luxury, it should be a right absolutely fundamental to life in 21st Century Britain and we’re going to bring fast broadband to every home and business that wants it.”

“Fast” broadband is defined by industry regulator Ofcom as 10mbps and according to official figures, 83 per cent of the UK population are currently able to access this speed, with the Government already committed to increasing this to 95 per cent by 2017 and now promising 100 per cent provision of 10mbps after a further three years.

Commenting on the pledge, CWU deputy general secretary Andy Kerr said that the union “welcomes the Government’s initiative to make 10mbps broadband a basic utility – a universal service obligation (USO) by 2020.

“The CWU has been calling for a USO on broadband for over a decade, and we are pleased that this will finally come to fruition,” he added.

However, Andy pointed out: “Meeting this commitment will require serious investment to ensure that those hard-to-reach rural areas are fully serviced and at affordable prices for citizens.

“It’s difficult to see how the market will invest in hard to reach parts of the country and so additional government money is likely to be necessary.

“Nevertheless the USO will be a huge improvement to citizens of the UK and we trust this will be a chance for the Government to consider greater investment in communications networks and a long term infrastructure plan which enables not only fast, but superfast (24mbps) broadband for everyone.”