Access to high-speed broadband will be a legal right in the UK by 2020

Shawn Knight

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High-speed broadband connectivity will be a legal right in the UK by 2020, the government announced on Wednesday.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that over the summer, it received a proposal from telecommunications company BT to deliver universal broadband through a voluntary agreement. The government said it welcomed the proposal and considered it in detail but felt it wasn’t strong enough to take the regulatory approach off the table.

Ultimately, the UK decided not to pursue the proposal in favor of providing a legal right to broadband through a Universal Service Obligation (USO). The government believes this is the best way to offer sufficient certainty and the legal enforceability required to ensure broadband access for the entire country by 2020.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said it is all part of their work to ensure that Britain’s telecoms infrastructure is fit for the future and will continue to deliver the connectivity consumers need in the digital age.

Independent regulator Ofcom determined that speeds of at least 10 Mbps are needed to meet the requirements of an average family. For comparison, the FCC in early 2015 redefined broadband in the US to a minimum of 25 Mbps down and three Mbps up although even those speeds are considered somewhat slow by today’s standards.

It’s worth noting that the government isn’t specifically saying that broadband must be delivered to every home and business but rather, people that desire service must be able to purchase it.

Do you think the UK government is overstepping its boundaries by making broadband access a legal right?

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I'm not a UK citizen so I really cannot say whether the government there is overstepping its boundaries, however, I can say that in my opinion, it is a far cry better than what the technically clueless lawyer Pai is doing for the US at the helm of the FCC.
 
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No it's not unreasonable, think about it, everyone can or may have access if willing to pay for it, Britain however is known for it's brutal taxes, so it's probably declared for the future more utility that is needed, for commerce, more people can interact with government agencies allowing more involvement to people whom are unwilling or unable to show up in person for elections and votes.
 
No, it's totally reasonable. It's access to information and it should be affordable to those who need it.

People in Africa are able to train to become doctors and specialists because they have access to information, slow access aside, it's the availability of knowledge that allows them to become more productive for themselves and their families.

I can say those who need internet access will certainly use it to better themselves rather than create memes all day and complain about the new Star Wars movie.
 
No it's not unreasonable, think about it, everyone can or may have access if willing to pay for it, Britain however is known for it's brutal taxes, so it's probably declared for the future more utility that is needed, for commerce, more people can interact with government agencies allowing more involvement to people whom are unwilling or unable to show up in person for elections and votes.

True, you only need to look at Estonia to see government done right.
 
Hol' up. I'm pretty sure that you can get *satellite* broadband nearly anywhere in the western hemisphere. So in a sense people in the UK, as in most other developed areas, already have the opportunity to purchase broadband. The real issue is whether or not its actually affordable, reliable and provides a realistic level of service. Currently satellite meets NONE of these criteria, so if their going to make access to "broadband" a right then they need to specify that "broadband" means not only acceptable speed but also that throttling, data caps and price of service for those in the sticks MUST be nearly as good as what urban customers have.
 
No it's not unreasonable, think about it, everyone can or may have access if willing to pay for it, Britain however is known for it's brutal taxes....

Are we? There are loads of other European nations with higher taxes than us. How funny.

But yeah, OT, this is one of few good things our government is doing. That's not to say they'll actually achieve it, as similar promises have been made before, but we'll see what happens.

Then again, this dove-tails nicely with all the domestic snooping going on. We can't find out people's thoughts and feelings if we can't spy on their internet usage - so mandate full web access and now we know evvvveeerrryyyything! Woo!
 
Just so everyone is on the same page, this is only the "right to high-speed internet" not that you will get it.
You have the right to have it but you probably won't get it.

People have the legal right to be homed but everyone know's there's a lot of people on the streets.

f**k the government yet again.
 
A high speed broadband connection is going to be a legal right for everyone, yet a roof over your head isn't. 1in200 people in the uk are homeless. Nice to see that the tories are getting their priorities right.. Not!
 
No it's not unreasonable, think about it, everyone can or may have access if willing to pay for it, Britain however is known for it's brutal taxes....

Are we? There are loads of other European nations with higher taxes than us. How funny.

But yeah, OT, this is one of few good things our government is doing. That's not to say they'll actually achieve it, as similar promises have been made before, but we'll see what happens.

Then again, this dove-tails nicely with all the domestic snooping going on. We can't find out people's thoughts and feelings if we can't spy on their internet usage - so mandate full web access and now we know evvvveeerrryyyything! Woo!


Its more about what the UK government classifies as a luxury, take flight and travel for instance LHR is one of the worst for taxes landing and takeoff fees, or jewelry here in the states I can get a 1 carat Leo diamond engagement ring for around 1200$ in Britain last I seen when in Scotland it was 3000pounds for the same ring...........that's almost 6000$ US dollars at the time. Grant it some things are cheaper and others more expensive, even computer parts like a GTX card are ridiculous in the UK, Aust., and parts of Europe where you're paying almost double the MSRP of what American citizens pay.
 
No it's not unreasonable, think about it, everyone can or may have access if willing to pay for it, Britain however is known for it's brutal taxes, so it's probably declared for the future more utility that is needed, for commerce, more people can interact with government agencies allowing more involvement to people whom are unwilling or unable to show up in person for elections and votes.

True, you only need to look at Estonia to see government done right.

Honestly, the US Government and other world leaders should absolutely be ashamed a little 1.3 million Nation has 1 of the most advanced technologically in the world by Government substructure. You would thing they would understand that the more citizens you have the easier the interaction needs to be.
 
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