Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, by what date 100 per cent of residents of (a) Kettering constituency and (b) England will have access to superfast broadband.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Based on current delivery plans, it is estimated that 97% of premises in Kettering will have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017. Additional funding sources, including the gainshare funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, will allow coverage to be extended further in Kettering and the rest of the area covered by the Northamptonshire broadband project.

The government currently aims to achieve superfast broadband coverage for 95% of UK premises by December 2017, and to extend coverage beyond that as far as possible. As the Prime Minister announced last autumn, the government proposes that by the end of this parliament people should have a legal right to request access to a good level of broadband speed, no matter where they live.