UK parliamentary committee slams government broadband targets as unrealistic
Report highlights missed targets and overpromising in gigabit infrastructure roll-out and urges government and national regulator to take bolder, faster action to address the causes of costs and delays
Share this item with your network: By Published: 22 Dec 2020 12:25
The UK government’s stated aim to roll out gigabit broadband across 85% of the UK by 2025 has been declared unrealistic in a withering report by Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee.
The committee also looked at what role 5G technology might play in national infrastructure and called the government’s target for majority 5G coverage by 2027 equally ambitious, especially following recent rulings on the use of equipment from high-risk suppliers, specifically removing Huawei technology from national infrastructures.
Net-zero targets, virtual climate events and green recovery debates: The sustainability stories of 2020
With less than a week until Christmas, edie recaps what has been a busy year for sustainability stories, from the growing green recovery movement to the election of Joe Biden.
We summarise the best-read and most important stories of 2020
We are frequently told that the pace of change in regards to environmental discussions and actions has never been so rapid - and that it will only continue to accelerate in the coming years.
2020 proved the trust of this statement. At the start of the pandemic, there was a feeling that the environment could be forgotten in a race to the bottom designed to restart the economy - but the growing green recovery movement has led to most sectors and nations imagining a greener future.
Next steps in Government’s £5 billion gigabit broadband plan
The government has today set out the next steps in its £5 billion strategy to deliver next generation, gigabit-capable broadband to the entire country.
From:
22 December 2020
A consultation has been launched on the draft procurement strategy for the UK Gigabit Programme setting out plans to connect the first one million homes and businesses with gigabit speed broadband and maximise coverage in the hardest to reach 20% of the UK by 2025.
Homes and businesses that do not yet have access to superfast broadband will be prioritised. Their speeds will rocket from less than 30 megabits per second to more than 1,000 megabits per second, or one gigabit per second.
| 22 December 2020
The UK government is set to miss even its scaled back targets to roll out gigabit broadband across the UK according to a report from the UK s Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee.
The warning comes as the UK government launches a consultation on the draft procurement strategy for its UK Gigabit Programme, setting out plans to connect the first one million homes and businesses with gigabit speed broadband and maximise coverage in the hardest to reach 20% of the UK by 2025.
It follows the announcement in November 2020 that the government was rolling back its original plan to deliver gigabit broadband to “every home” by 2025 to “minimum of 85% coverage” by 2025; a move that was criticised by the UK broadband industry. The budget of the plan remains at the £5 billion, set out as a manifesto commitment by the UK government a year ago, but only £1.2 billion of that sum will be made available up until 2024.
Moving to the next level of project leadership across government
Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) refreshes the Project Leadership Programme, as part of plans for project delivery reform.
From: The Government has signed a new contract to deliver the Project Leadership Programme.
Today, (21 December), the Government has signed a new contract to deliver the Project Leadership Programme (PLP), as part of the plans to drive a step change in the delivery of government projects set out in the National Infrastructure Strategy.
Cranfield University School of Management, PA Consulting Group and The Project Academy (TPA), working together as a consortium, have been awarded the contract to update and refresh the training programme for project leaders. This supports the government’s aim to create a highly skilled cadre of government project leaders.