Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Digital Connectivity: Rural Areas

Thursday 1 July 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government is focused on improving digital infrastructure and connectivity in rural areas through the 5 billion Project Gigabit programme and the 1 billion shared rural network.
  • The target of the 4G shared rural network is based on providing outside coverage, which will bring significant indoor coverage improvements.
  • Visiting Great Snoring and other villages in the constituency reveals the need to go outside to get a signal, highlighting ongoing connectivity challenges.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jerome Mayhew Con Broadland and Fakenham
Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs Environment
Context

The government has initiated programmes like Project Gigabit to improve digital infrastructure.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to improve digital infrastructure and connectivity in rural areas. The Government are focused intently on improving digital infrastructure and connectivity in rural areas, both through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme and the £1 billion shared rural network.

Answer from Matt Warman

The Government are focused intently on improving digital infrastructure and connectivity in rural areas, both through the £5 billion Project Gigabit programme and the £1 billion shared rural network. That will deliver huge increases in connectivity across the whole country, while Project Gigabit provides fibre to at least 85% of the country.

Answered
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Q2 Jerome Mayhew Con Broadland and Fakenham
Environment
Context

Tuesday's announcement on the shared rural network covers most of the constituency, but certain areas like Great Snoring lack adequate indoor signal strength.

Question

I very much welcome Tuesday's announcement on the shared rural network and the news that 98% of my constituency will receive some form of coverage. However, those who visit Great Snoring and many other villages in my constituency will find that they have to go outside to get a signal, if they get one at all. Will the Minister confirm to me that in order to claim this coverage people have to have a signal sufficiently strong to penetrate a normal building, so they can have a conversation inside and not only in the garden?

Answer from Matt Warman

The target of the 4G shared rural network is based on outside coverage, but of course the effect of that outside coverage is a huge halo that brings signals indoors: into normal homes and beyond. I think we will see a really significant improvement in indoor coverage, alongside an improvement on 45,000 km of roads and in 1.2 million businesses and homes across the country.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Requirement for signal to penetrate normal buildings

How: Halo Effect

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