The Department for Digital,Culture, Media and Sport has announced that new laws from the UK Government are to ensure that new homes in England are built with gigabit broadband connections, as part of the wider mission to ensure better digital transformation across the country.
Government ministers have now made amendments to the Building Regulations 2010 to allow for the new laws, meaning that the correct infrastructure and connections will be in place in all new homes that are constructed in England. This will equip them to deliver gigabit broadband, providing homeowners with the fastest broadband speeds on the market.
With gigabit broadband available in over 70% of the United Kingdom, it is already making a difference to those who are working from home, as well as ensuring smoother streaming and ease of access for those with multiple devices.
Considering the high levels of cost and disruption that are involved when gigabit-capable connections are put in after someone has moved into a new home, these laws will ensure that I is easier for people moving into their newly built homes can access the best broadband straight away.
Alongside this change to the laws, the government have also made it easer for those living in blocks of flats to access faster internet connections, especially when landlords repeatedly ignore requests for access from broadband firms. This is through the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act that is now in place in England and Wales, as the act will make it easier for broadband providers to gain access to blocks of flat to install the required equipment to fulfil a tenant’s request for faster internet connection.
The government estimate that an extra 2,100 residential buildings will be connected to faster broadband every year as a result of this change.
Julia Lopez, Digital Infrastructure Minister, said:
“Nothin should stop people from seizing the benefits of better broadband, whether it is an unresponsive landlord or a property developer’s failure to act.
“Thanks to our new laws, millions of renters will no longer be prevented from getting a broadband upgrade due to the silence of their landlord, and those moving into newly built homes can be confident they’ll have access to the fastest speeds available from the day they move in.”
With the government’s Project Gigabit helping to drive these important changes, especially in rural communities, the new announcement also stated that connection costs are to be capped at £2,000 per home for developers, with them working alongside network operators to connect new developments to the gigabit network. The announcement states that the government expect over 98% of premises to fall within the cap which means that very few people can expect to move into a new-build home and not have access to fast internet.
