House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee Broadband services in Wales First Report of Session 2012–13 HC 580 Incorporating HC 1367-i-iii, Session 2010-12 House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee Broadband services in Wales First Report of Session 2012–13 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 11 September 2012 HC 580 Incorporating HC 1367-i-iii, Session 2010-12 Published on 17 September 2012 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Welsh Affairs Committee The Welsh Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (including relations with the National Assembly for Wales). Current membership David T.C. Davies MP (Conservative, Monmouth) (Chair) Stuart Andrew MP (Conservative, Pudsey) Guto Bebb MP (Conservative, Aberconwy) Geraint Davies MP (Labour, Swansea West) Jonathan Edwards MP (Plaid Cymru, Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) Nia Griffith MP (Labour, Llanelli) Mrs Siân C. James MP (Labour, Swansea East) Susan Elan Jones MP (Labour, Clwyd South) Karen Lumley MP (Conservative, Redditch) Jessica Morden MP (Labour, Newport East) Mr Robin Walker MP (Conservative, Worcester) Mr Mark Williams MP (Liberal Democrat, Ceredigion) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/welshcom The Reports of the Committee, the formal minutes relating to that report, oral evidence taken and some or all written evidence are available in printed volumes. Additional written evidence may be published on the internet only. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee is Marek Kubala (Clerk), Anwen Rees (Committee Specialist), Lori Inglis Hall (Senior Committee Assistant), Dabinder Rai (Committee Assistant), Ravi Abhayaratne (Committee Support Assistant) and Jessica Bridges-Palmer (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Welsh Affairs Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 3264; and the Committee’s email address is [email protected] Broadband services in Wales 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 Introduction 5 Background 5 Broadband technology 5 Responsibility for broadband strategy in Wales 5 Our inquiry 6 2 Current Broadband coverage in Wales 7 Introduction 7 “Notspots” and “slowspots” 8 Effect of limited broadband access on businesses and individuals 9 Welsh Government schemes to address notspots 10 3 Superfast broadband or broadband for all? 12 DCMS broadband strategy 12 Super connected cities 13 The Welsh Government’s broadband strategy 13 The right strategy? 13 4 Delivering the Strategy 16 Access to BT’s infrastructure 16 Alternative technologies 17 Mobile 17 Satellite 19 5 Conclusion 20 Conclusions and recommendations 21 2 Broadband services in Wales 3 Summary Historically, the availability of broadband has been consistently lower in Wales than the rest of the UK. Although that gap has narrowed in recent years latest figures show that the gap between Wales and the UK has widened again. Wales must continue to receive the funding and political leadership to ensure that broadband provision is at the very least in line with the rest of the UK. In rural areas of Wales the existence of broadband notspots and slowspots has hindered the operations of existing businesses and has deterred new businesses from choosing to locate there—to the cost of the local economy. Eradicating remaining broadband notspots and slowspots in Wales must be a priority for the UK and Welsh Governments. The UK Government has pledged to provide the UK with the “best broadband in Europe” by providing access to superfast broadband for 90% of the UK by 2015. The Welsh Government’s target is even more stretching and includes a commitment to provide Welsh businesses access to next-generation broadband at a minimum speed of 30 mbps by “the middle of 2016”. Both of these targets are extremely ambitious. The two Governments will deserve great credit if they are achieved. The UK and Welsh Governments have previously introduced schemes to increase broadband provision in Wales. The impact of these schemes have been mixed—the Welsh Government’s Regional Innovative Broadband Support (RIBS) scheme only provided a minimum download speed of 0.5 mbps, which soon proved inadequate to businesses and consumers. The Broadband Support Scheme which replaced RIBS has also experienced problems. The Welsh Government must ensure that the Broadband Support Scheme reaches as many people as possible, is adequately advertised and that the application process for grants from the scheme is made as easy as possible to complete. The Governments must ensure that the roll-out of superfast broadband is not undertaken at the expense of ensuring that the needs of those without any broadband service at all are met. The first priority must be to ensure that the needs of the approximately 90,000 homes in Wales which currently do not have access to broadband are addressed as soon as possible. The Government’s ambitions for superfast broadband must not be at the expense of delivering a good broadband service for all. Broadband services in Wales can only be made available to the most remote parts of Wales through a mix of technologies including mobile. Mobile broadband is the fastest growing means of accessing the internet in Wales and this trend is likely to continue. The delayed Spectrum auction, now planned for 2013, must ensure that 4G mobile services are available to at least 98% of people in Wales. Satellite broadband is a practical alternative to fixed line and mobile broadband. We received very persuasive evidence that for very difficult-to-reach areas it might be the best solution for Wales as it has been for parts of Scotland. We recommend that Ofcom undertake a study to evaluate whether satellite broadband should be supported more vigorously in Wales. 4 Broadband services in Wales There is a little over two years for the Government to deliver on its pledge to provide the UK with the best broadband in Europe. For Wales, broadband will become an increasingly important generator of economic success and a means of addressing social exclusion. The task before the Government is therefore significant and if they are to succeed the programmes of both the UK and Welsh Governments must be implemented without delay. We will continue to monitor the broadband strategies of both the UK and Welsh Governments over the course of this Parliament. Broadband services in Wales 5 1 Introduction Background 1. In Wales, as throughout the UK, the internet has become central to everyday life. The internet supports a growing volume of business and retail transactions with many state and commercial services delivered to individuals online. Internet access is now considered to be vital by most businesses and people who use it to make transactions, and to download film, music, games and other media, and as a forum for social interaction. 2. As the number of internet users has grown in Wales and across the UK, and the amount of data that is transmitted through the internet has expanded, additional pressure has been placed on the infrastructure that supports it. Initially access to the internet was through a telephone and modem which enabled data to be downloaded through copper telephone lines at speeds of up to one megabit of data per second (mbps). Today information can be sent and downloaded at much greater speed through broadband—a high bandwidth connection to the internet—at speeds ranging from two mpbs up to 100 mbps.1 Broadband technology 3. In the UK broadband is delivered to businesses and households in three main ways. Fixed line broadband is internet access delivered via a connection through a telephone line or cable service. It is the most common method of delivering broadband in the UK and Wales. There are two major suppliers of fixed-line broadband in Wales: BT’s copper telephone network and Virgin Media’s cable network.2 In some areas of Wales, both companies also provide Superfast broadband (or ‘next-generation access’ (NGA)) services through fibre optic cabling which can provide download speeds in excess of 24 megabits per second (mbps). 4. Mobile broadband is delivered through mobile telephone networks which connect consumers to the internet via a mobile device, including a smart phone or tablet, or a “dongle” that plugs into a computer's USB port. Mobile broadband depends on the availability of suitable spectrum and is currently only available in areas that are served by 3G mobile networks. 5. Broadband can also be delivered from satellites positioned in Space to almost any household or business with a satellite receiver. Responsibility for broadband strategy in Wales 6. The UK and Welsh Governments have recognised that access to broadband is a key enabler of economic growth and of social interaction. Both governments have also stated that significant investment is required to increase broadband services in Wales so that access and download speed in the country is in line with the rest of the UK. In the UK, 1 Two Mega bits per second is considered to be the minimum requirement for an adequate broadband service. 2 Ev 37 6 Broadband services in Wales Ofcom estimate that 74% of households subscribe to an internet broadband service.3 In Wales, 71% of Welsh households have broadband access although there are significant regional variations within the country, particularly in mountainous and remote areas.