The Department for Culture, Media and Sport this week published an update to its 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme (5GTT) looking at progress made and future plans and activities planned for the upcoming year.
Now that we have all had a chance to try and draw breath over the summer it seems opportune to reflect on how potentially seismic a change the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review may come to signify.
The BSG welcomes a joint statement that has been published today between the telecoms sector and the landowners community. (more…)
A key focus for the Government’s Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review was around barrier busting – alleviating the cost to network deployment. As part of this thinking, DCMS has published a toolkit outlining good practice and recommendations for the street works process of deploying fiber across the UK. The framework is intended to guide local authorities and operators and contractors towards working more collaboratively and ultimately enabling a more efficient roll out. (more…)
The Government has announced the conclusion of its Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review. The Review which was announced in the Industrial Strategy sets out the targets and overall policy framework for the sector for the next 15 years.
The headlines are a confirmation of the Government’s targets for full fibre coverage to reach 15 million premises by 2025 and full coverage by 2033, with 5G coverage by 2027. The targets and accompanying policy shifts – in particular the change in competition models – mark a significant evolution in the Government’s approach.
Commenting on the publication of the report the BSG’s Chair, Richard Hooper CBE, commented “The BSG welcomes the Government’s publication of its Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review and is pleased to be playing a useful role in barrier-busting in implementing fixed and mobile networks, and in PSTN switch-off which is the important precursor to fibre switchover.”
Addressing the CBI Annual Dinner last night, Chancellor Philip Hammond put full fibre infrastructure at the heart of his vision for a post- Brexit Britain leading the world in innovation. Pledging not only to deliver full fibre connections to 15 million premises by 2025, he also committed “to deliver a nationwide full-fibre to the premises network by 2033”.
Government today laid legislation setting the design of the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO). This follows Government confirmation in December last year that having access to high speed broadband would be a legal right.
Government has pledged £67 million towards investing in full fibre broadband connections through the Nationwide Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS). Vouchers worth up to £3000 for small and medium sized businesses or £500 for residents will be issued to help bring down the costs of getting gigabit connections.
The scheme forms part of the £200 million Local Full Fibre Networks program – of which £95 million was this week awarded to 13 bidders across the UK.
The DCMS call for evidence for the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review signalled the opening of the conversation around what – if any – policy interventions could benefit long-term investment in the infrastructure required for the next generation of digital technologies.
The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has published its report into the Potential impact of Brexit on the creative industries, tourism and the digital single market. The report was produced in response to an inquiry launched in the Autumn of 2016 to examine priority issues for Government in its negotiations as it exits the EU. Particular attention was given to workforce, funding and the future regulatory environment issues. (more…)
The Government has published the Terms of Reference for a review into future investment into the UK telecoms sector, led by DCMS. The cross-government Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review will explore what makes investment in full fibre and 5G networks attractive, and what actions Government may need to take in order to deliver on its vision.
I’ve written before about why the Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP) failed to live up to its expectations. In summary, building infrastructure is hard in any case and it’s even harder when neither the problem you want to solve nor solution are agreed upon by the parties involved. Last week though the Government published the Mobile Infrastructure Project: Impact and Benefits Report so it’s only fair to pay attention to the benefits that it delivered too.
The Government yesterday announced that they were entering the trial phase of their Full Fibre Networks Programme which forms part of the £740m investment in digital infrastructure originally announced as part of the National Productivity Investment Fund.
The latest Broadband Performance Indicator update released by the Government shows that superfast broadband has been made available to over 4.5 million premises thanks to the BDUK programme.
