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Thursday Volume 669 16 January 2020 No. 11 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 16 January 2020 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2020 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1129 16 JANUARY 2020 1130 remains.The crucial issue is the universal service obligation, House of Commons of which she will be aware. Fifteen per cent. of her constituents get less than the 10 megabit limit. They will Thursday 16 January 2020 benefit from that later this year. Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab): The House met at half-past Nine o’clock This is my first questions session shadowing the Digital Minister,who, as a former tech journalist, knows something PRAYERS of his subject—and as a former telecoms engineer, so do I. We both know that in towns, villages and cities, everyone is suffering the consequences of a wasted [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] decade. Under Labour, we rolled out first-generation broadband to half of all homes within a decade. But today, full-fibre broadband only reaches a mere 10% of Oral Answers to Questions homes, and we languish at the bottom of all the international tables. The Prime Minister has promised full-fibre broadband for everybody in five years. Does the Minister have a plan for that? Who will be delivering DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT it? How much will it cost? Will it really be fibre or just gigabit capability—or are Big Ben’s bongs the only The Minister of State was asked— telecoms infrastructure that he can plan for? Full-fibre and Gigabit-capable Broadband Matt Warman: As an engineer, I think the hon.
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