UK broadband update July 2016
This month the government introduced the Digital Economy Bill (more detail here) to Parliament, as announced in the Queen’s speech in May. The main elements of the Bill are:
- Fast Broadband and support for consumers, including a new Broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) for the U.K., giving all citizens the legal right to request a 10Mbit/s broadband connection.
- Enabling digital infrastructure, in the form of a reformed Electronic Communications Code (more background here), new and simpler planning rules for building broadband infrastructure and new measures to manage radio spectrum to increase the capacity of mobile broadband.
- Further measures to protect intellectual property.
- Changes to the way government uses data to improve public services.
- New protection for citizens in the digital economy, in relation to direct marketing and protecting children from online pornography.
Also see coverage from Out-Law and BBC News; the Telegraph focussed on the Bill’s measures to strengthen Ofcom’s regulatory role.
Also this month the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee published the report of its inquiry Establishing world-class connectivity throughout the UK (more background on this here and here). The report welcomes the progress made to date but also flags that “the UK is a laggard by international standards in providing fibre connectivity”. It also welcomes the Government’s 10Mbit/s universal service obligation and suggests that “the need for an increase in the USO minimum download speed to 30Mbit/s by 2022 is entirely foreseeable, and the Government will need to make active plans for this eventuality”. Finally the report calls for Openreach to be made more independent from BT, arguing that “a potentially very significant amount of annual investment in broadband access and services, investment that would likely add to shareholder value, is not at present being made…BT should therefore take immediate steps to invest further in Openreach infrastructure and services”.
Ofcom published its plans for establishing a more independent Openreach following the initial conclusions from its Digital Communications Review published in February of this year. Ofcom is proposing that Openreach should become a legally separate company within BT Group, with its own Board. This falls short of separating Openreach entirely from the rest of BT, as called for by many, but is regarded as the most radical reform possible without embarking on the lengthy, complex and costly process of formal separation.
Openreach should also be “obliged to consult formally with customers such as Sky and TalkTalk on large-scale investments. There should be a ‘confidential’ phase during which customers can discuss ideas without this being disclosed to BT Group.” Ofcom welcomed BT’s proposal to reform Openreach (more here and here), but also flagged that “there remain important areas where it does not fully address our concerns. For example, the need for Openreach to be a legally separate company, and for Openreach to have confidential discussions with its customers without oversight by BT.” The Government issued a response to Ofcom’s plans, also expressing concern that “BT’s proposals do not go far enough”.
Ofcom’s consultation on its new proposals ends on 4th October. Also central to Ofcom’s plans is “encouraging the large-scale deployment of new ultrafast networks, including fibre direct to homes and businesses, as an alternative to the copper-based technologies currently planned by BT”: alongside its proposals Ofcom published a progress update on duct and pole access (DPA), under which BT will open up its infrastructure for other providers to deploy new networks, as well as draft guidance setting out how it expects to handle disputes under the Communications (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2016. These Regulations, which come into effect on 31 July, are designed to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks.
Finally this month, the Government announced its new ministerial team for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Matt Hancock MP is the new Minister of State for Digital and Culture.
