Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to match the commitment made by the EU to equip every town and village with free wireless internet by 2020.
Matt Hancock
The Government will consider the European Commission’s detailed plans for implementing their proposal when they are available.
In the meantime we are working to extend digital connectivity further and maintain its position as a world-leading digital economy. The partnership between central Government and local authorities has resulted in £1.7bn of public investment in superfast broadband across the UK and has enabled commercial suppliers to extend coverage of superfast broadband to over 90% of UK homes and businesses. The BDUK programme will see coverage rise to 95% of UK homes and businesses by the end of 2017.
Additionally, Telefonica (O2) has a licence obligation to deliver indoor 4G coverage to 98 per cent of premises in the UK by end 2017 that will further boost local connectivity across the UK.
