Broadband and Digital Connectivity Rural Areas
2021-05-20
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
A number of rural areas have been reclassified as urban, affecting their eligibility for community vouchers.
Does my hon. Friend agree that the lack of certainty risks villages such as Three Oaks in my constituency being missed out? What steps can he take to ensure this cannot happen?
It is of course welcome news that a commercial roll-out will reach more of the country than ever, but my hon. Friend raises an important point. This Government will make sure that no part of the country is left behind on that roll-out, which is why there is flexibility in the voucher scheme and why Project Gigabit is there to scoop up all the remaining premises.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific steps or guarantees not provided
It Is Welcome News
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The Government have pledged to improve mobile coverage through a £1 billion deal.
Will the Minister confirm that his Department has already begun using this funding to improve mobile coverage in rural areas?
It is good to see that working from home can provide a grander backdrop than this place. My hon. Friend is right to welcome the shared rural network. The roll-out has already started to benefit a large number of constituencies. It began in Wales and we will be talking in the coming weeks about where it is going to benefit in coming years.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific confirmation or timeline not given
It Is Good To See
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
Residents in Ashfield suffer from a lack of access to superfast broadband, finding community fibre partnerships too expensive.
When will areas such as Teversal in my constituency get access to this much-needed service?
My hon. Friend is right to say that community fibre partnerships, although they work well in some places, do not work well everywhere. That is why Project Gigabit is so important; £5 billion of Government money will be coming down the tracks very quickly. We published plans in April and there will be more detail in June.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific timeline not provided, emphasis on project gigabit
That Is Why Project Gigabit
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
Fibre-to-cabinet is inadequate for many of Suffolk's rural parishes and villages.
How will he help those homes? What will he do for very rural areas that need better than fibre-to-cabinet?
The universal service obligation is a help in the situations my hon. Friend describes, but of course we need to go further. That is why the Government are consulting on what we do in the very hardest-to-reach premises and I look forward to talking more about what satellites and other solutions can offer in the near future.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific plans or commitments not provided, emphasis on consultation
We Are Consulting
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
Residents in parts of the constituency such as Barlborough, Clowne, Heath and Shirebrook report poor broadband connections.
Will the Minister meet me to discuss those areas and what more we can do to improve their broadband connections?
I am of course happy to meet my hon. Friend, but he will also know that in the Project Gigabit plans Derbyshire is very much already on that road map. That is good news and I look forward to talking about it in more detail with him.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific meeting commitment not provided, emphasis on project gigabit
It Is Good News
Response accuracy