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Legal right to ask for fast broadband by 2020 UK homes to get faster broadband by 2020
(35 minutes later)
The government has rejected BT's voluntary offer to connect remote homes to superfast broadband and will enforce the legal right to an upgrade. The government has said homes and businesses will have a legal right to high-speed broadband by 2020 after rejecting a voluntary offer from BT.
The government has promised access to speeds of at least 10 Mbps by 2020.
Openreach, owned by BT and responsible for the infrastructure, offered to speed up improvements to 1.1 million rural homes.Openreach, owned by BT and responsible for the infrastructure, offered to speed up improvements to 1.1 million rural homes.
The government has promised access to speeds of at least 10 Mbps by 2020.
BT said it respected the government's decision.
The government believes the regulatory Universal Service Obligation offers "certainty".The government believes the regulatory Universal Service Obligation offers "certainty".
Under the plan, broadband providers will face a legal requirement to provide high-speed broadband to anyone requesting it, subject to a cost threshold.Under the plan, broadband providers will face a legal requirement to provide high-speed broadband to anyone requesting it, subject to a cost threshold.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said:"We are grateful to BT for their proposal but have decided that only a regulatory approach will make high-speed broadband a reality for everyone in the UK, regardless of where they live or work." 'On-demand programme'
Matt Hancock, minister of state for digital policy at the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said on the BBC's Today programme: "Access means you can phone up somebody, ask for it and then someone has the legal duty to deliver on that promise.
"It is about having the right to demand it, so it will be an on-demand programme."
In response to the announcement, BT said: "BT and Openreach want to get on with the job of making decent broadband available to everyone in the UK, so we'll continue to explore the commercial options for bringing faster speeds to those parts of the country which are hardest to reach."