News story

UK should have best superfast broadband in Europe

Broadband providers will be given a call to action by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt tomorrow

From:
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP
Published
8 March 2012
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Mr Hunt will be speaking at a Government-hosted conference to discuss the best tactics for rolling out universal and superfast broadband across the UK. He will tell providers they need to work together to find new, cheaper ways to deliver the networks.

Ahead of the event he said: “By the end of this Parliament, this country should boast the best superfast broadband in Europe and be up there with the very best in the world.”

Also tomorrow Broadband Delivery UK, set up to deliver the Government’s broadband objectives, will launch a project to research the barriers to broadband in rural areas. And the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will publish a document on infrastructure sharing between telecoms and other utility companies.

Further information

Video highlights

Event agenda, Broadband Delivery UK

10:00 - 10:10 Introduction and welcome

  • Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries (joint Minister with Department of Business, Innovation and Skills)

10:10 - 11:00 Speeches from ministers to set the policy context for the day

11:00 - 12:05 Policy update - running through the detail of BDUK’s approach to delivery and answering key policy questions from the industry

12:05 - 12:15 Session round up and comments

  • Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries (joint Minister with Department of Business, Innovation and Skills)

13:15 - 14:15 USC Theoretical exercise, launching a desk based exercise for industry to devise approaches to solving the USC problem, based on real work examples

14:15 - 14:45 Launch of infrastructure sharing consultation paper

  • Simon Towler (Department for Business, Industry and Skills)
  • Jeanne Grey (Department for Business, Industry and Skills)

15:00 - 16:00 Superfast Broadband pilots and questions - giving more details and a timeline for the superfast broadband pilots announced by Jeremy Hunt on the 8th June

Adrian Kamellard (CEO Broadband Delivery UK)

Published 8 March 2012