High Speed internet Promise by 2020

The Government sets out USO, which pledges the legal right for everybody in the UK to request a 10+Mbps capable high-speed connection from 2020.

13:35 03 April 2018

On March 28, the Government has unveiled the final details of the new Universal Service Obligation (USO), designed to provide everybody in the United Kingdom the legal right to obtain at least 10Mbps capable high-speed broadband connection starting 2020.

 

Up to 98per cent of the UK is expected to have access to fixed superfast broadband that offers 24Mbps+ by 2020. The new USO will thus apply to the final 2per cent, which is estimated to be between around 300,000 and 500,000 premises.

 

Margot James, UK Digital Minister, said that broadband service is now an essential services, like water and phone lines.

 

She said: “In the 21st century, accessing the internet is a necessity not a luxury. We are building a Britain that is fit for the future, and we’re now putting high speed broadband on a similar footing as other essential services like water and phone lines.”

 

The Government believes that only a regulatory USO offers sufficient certainty and the legal enforceability that is required to ensure high speed broadband access for the whole of the UK by 2020. 95% of the UK already has access to superfast broadband, and the USO will provide a “digital safety net” for those in the most remote and hardest to reach places.”