Government takes action to improve mobile and broadband coverage in rural areas

It has been a busy week for announcements from the Government on how they will support digital connectivity, providing the opportunity for everyone to connect to the information superhighway, and boost economic prosperity.

Following on from the announcement in the Budget that Government would 'reduce planning restrictions on existing mobile infrastructure and facilitate the taller new-ground building of new masts' a Written Ministerial Statement was published that provided further detail which can be found here. This statement was followed by the launch of a consultation on how to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) by 2020. The Prime Minister announced the Government's intention to implement a USO last November saying a USO will provide a safety net for homes and businesses in areas of the UK without access to superfast broadband by giving people the right to request an affordable broadband connection, at a minimum speed, from a designated provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold.

The Government's ambition is that the USO should be set at 10Mbps. The consultation can be found here setting out the Government's proposed approach to take this work forward. The consultation will run for four weeks until 18th April.