MP’s to debate increasing coverage of superfast broadband in UK

MPs are set to tackle the ongoing issues which are holding back the government’s superfast broadband roll-out, to give nippy internet to UK’s black spots.

The state of UK broadband is set to come under the microscope once again, following a debate in the House of Commons over the prevalent obstacles which are still standing in the way of the government’s superfast roll-out.

Issues to be examined include the rigmarole of securing permission to cross public highways and byways when installing infrastructure, with MPs hoping to create a standardised agreement for speeding up the process of applying for permissions.

Usually, a party looking to enter or cross private property when installing infrastructure would have to apply for a type of permission called a ‘wayleave’ from the property owner. This can often be a protracted process, but the government intends to deliver a standardised template which companies and groups can use from now on. In theory, this should allow the wheels of bureaucracy to move more briskly than usual – which shouldn’t be hard, given the usual speed is akin to an asthmatic donkey with two legs and leprosy.

Also on the agenda will be the existence of so-called broadband blackspots in the nation’s capital, which have come to the fore in recent months following Labour MP Emily Thornberry’s lambasting of BT over poor broadband speeds in Tech City.

Indeed, the broadband in some areas of the capital is reportedly so bad that many users in rural areas, who have recently received the service via the government’s roll-out scheme, now have faster access.

The debate in the Commons has been initiated by Conservative MP Matt Warman, former tech editor of the Daily Telegraph. He noted that, while “immense” progress has been made in delivering high-end broadband services to much of the country, including the harder to reach, rural areas, much work remains to be done. For the government to succeed in its goal of 95 per cent reach for superfast services, continued “significant” issues will need to be addressed.

Hopefully, as someone who actually knows the business better than many others who have failed to tackle ongoing problems in the past, Mr Warman will have some semblance of success in getting the message across.