MPs describe 'litany of failures' in Government's superfast broadband plans

The Public Accounts Committee criticised the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for not being prepared to admit sooner it would not meet a Conservative election pledge of gigabit broadband connectivity across the entire country by 2025.

It was not until the November 2020 Spending Review that the Government revealed it was rowing back on the target, aiming for at least 85 per cent instead.

That original target was “unachievable”, MPs said in their Improving Broadband report, calling for a “clear timeline” of what activities the department intends to complete and by when. But the Government defended its approach and said the report contained a "number of inaccuracies".

Lack of a fast broadband connection has long been cited as one of the issues holding back rural areas, not least in North Yorkshire where the county council hopes to get 97 per cent of all homes and businesses a ‘superfast’ connection through its own scheme.

In December it was announced that an extra 15,830 homes and businesses in North Yorkshire will be able to connect to superfast broadband after county leaders awarded a new contract.

North Yorkshire County Council and its wholly-owned company, NYnet, have awarded the contract for the latest phase of the Superfast North Yorkshire programme to Quickline Communications Ltd.

The Conservative-run authority says it means the majority of new residents covered by the scheme will get access at more than 100Mbps with the aim that all 15,830 will get over 100Mbps by the end of the programme

But the committee’s report said MPs were “increasingly concerned” that nationally “those in rural areas may have to pay more and may reach gigabit broadband speeds late.”

It said: “Given the impact of Covid-19, the department must do more to protect those with limited access to the internet.

“We remain unconvinced that if and when rural users finally do get gigabit broadband, they will enjoy the same choice of service provider and the same protections as their urban counterparts.”

The committee is concerned that a reduced target of 85 per cent will still be challenging to meet.

They also called out the Government for not allocating three-quarters of the £5bn allocation to rollout gigabit broadband until after 2024-25.

Meanwhile, it accused the Department of being “vague” about the potential costs and delays from removing telecommunications equipment supplied by Huawei, which must be stripped from the UK’s 5G network by 2027 due to security risks.

Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “With the grim announcement that the country and economy will be locked down for months, the Government’s promises on digital connectivity are more important than ever.

“But due to a litany of planning and implementation failures at DCMS, those promises are slipping farther and farther out of reach – even worse news for the ‘rural excluded’ who face years trying to recover with substandard internet connectivity.

“For the foreseeable future, ever more of our lives is moving online, whether we like it or not.

“Government cannot allow digital inequality to continue to compound and exacerbate the economic inequality that has been so harshly exposed in the Covid-19 pandemic.”

A Government spokeswoman said: "We do not agree with this report, which contains a number of inaccuracies.

"Gigabit capable broadband is being rolled out rapidly - from one in ten households in 2019 to one in three households today. We expect that half of all households will have access to gigabit speeds by the end of this year, and the UK is deploying at a faster build rate than comparable countries.

"This is evidence of the progress we have made to support the private sector and reduce barriers to roll out. We will take further rapid steps this year alongside the investment being made as part of our record £5 billion UK Gigabit Programme, which will focus on ensuring the hardest to reach 20 per cenr of the country is not left behind."