The Broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) that will give people the right to request a broadband connection that meets a certain specification has now passed from Government to Ofcom. The regulator now has up to two years to implement the new obligation.

The USO must promise to deliver download speeds of at least 10Mbps and upload speeds of no less than 1Mbps. The USO also makes additional requirements for latency of networks and data caps from providers. These speeds will be reviewed periodically to ensure there is a safety net, anabling households to access basic services.

The cost threshold for delivering broadband which complies with the USO has been set at £3,400. If a single property will cost more than this, the owner will have the choice of paying the additional costs, or they can choose a satellite broadband service. In addition demand will be aggregated, which will allow groups of properties to combine their allowance, enabling more people to collaborate to get connected.

£3,400 Per Household

The department of digital, culture media and sport (DCMS) estimates that the £3,400 cost threshold it should be possible to avoid using satellite broadband for all but the most expensive final 0.2% of UK premises (i.e. around 58,000 premises).

No public funding has been allocated for the delivery of the USO. It is now Ofcom’s responsibility to create an industry fund which will support the universal provision of broadband.

As Think Broadband notes: As the infrastructure is rolled out, some areas may end up with multiple provider options e.g. fixed wireless with £199 install, 4G mobile solution with data caps and £99 install or a full-fibre option with a contribution needed above due to costs exceeding the cost threshold.

The site also highlights one thing missing from the available information, timescales. “One thing missing from the list as far as we can see if a defined timeframe for work to deliver a USO connection from the day you request one, i.e. do providers get 28 days to deliver, three months or 12 months?”

Scotland R100

Scotland has its R100 project at an early procurement stage and Wales along with some local authorities have aims for getting closer to 100% superfast provision. This means there is going to be the slightly messy situation of the USO existing in areas where work to deliver superfast broadband is still underway in 2020, so liaison between the universal service providers and local authorities may be critical to ensuring every consumer can benefit from the drive to give the whole of the UK decent broadband speeds.