The information requested can be found in the table below:

Responses to consultations often do not take the form of a simple and clear response, but are instead fed into wider documents and work e.g. policy documents, which often cannot be completed within the given 12 week period.

The Government intends to direct Ofcom to carry out a review of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) when at least 75% of premises have taken-up superfast broadband of 30 Mbps or more. In their 2018 Connected Nations report, Ofcom reported that 45% of the UK has taken-up superfast broadband but neither Ofcom nor Government has conducted a formal estimate of when 75% take-up is likely to be reached. However, Ofcom will continue to monitor the progress of the Universal Service Obligation (USO), and wider connectivity trends, through its Connected Nations report. These reports will inform Government’s ongoing assessment of whether a review of the USO before the 75% threshold has been reached is appropriate.

The UK’s current ultrafast broadband coverage is currently low compared to European counterparts however the UK is amongst the leaders of superfast broadband coverage, ahead of Spain, France and Germany, thanks, in part, to over £1.8bn of public investment.

Superfast broadband, which is delivered through part-fibre part-copper networks, meets the needs of most consumers today . However, it is full fibre networks that will be needed to meet expected future demands with the focus not purely on speed, but also resilience and reliability. The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review published the Government’s targets for full fibre coverage.

The last EU report on broadband coverage had the UK at 26th of all Member States for full fibre at just over 2% coverage. However, we have since started to increase deployment at pace and our current full fibre coverage is 8% which represents almost 2.5 million homes and businesses. Our target to reach 15 million premises by 2025 represents around half of the homes and businesses in the UK. We are driving take-up and demand for full fibre. Our £67 million Gigabit Voucher Scheme, launched in April 2018, provides small grants for residents and small businesses to upgrade to a gigabit-capable connection, and support the take up of faster services. Vouchers are also available under the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme, with higher values to reflect the greater costs of connecting in rural and remote areas.

The UK’s current ultrafast broadband coverage is currently low compared to European counterparts however the UK is amongst the leaders of superfast broadband coverage, ahead of Spain, France and Germany, thanks, in part, to over £1.8bn of public investment.

Superfast broadband, which is delivered through part-fibre part-copper networks, meets the needs of most consumers today . However, it is full fibre networks that will be needed to meet expected future demands with the focus not purely on speed, but also resilience and reliability. The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review published the Government’s targets for full fibre coverage.

The last EU report on broadband coverage had the UK at 26th of all Member States for full fibre at just over 2% coverage. However, we have since started to increase deployment at pace and our current full fibre coverage is 8% which represents almost 2.5 million homes and businesses. Our target to reach 15 million premises by 2025 represents around half of the homes and businesses in the UK. We are driving take-up and demand for full fibre. Our £67 million Gigabit Voucher Scheme, launched in April 2018, provides small grants for residents and small businesses to upgrade to a gigabit-capable connection, and support the take up of faster services. Vouchers are also available under the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme, with higher values to reflect the greater costs of connecting in rural and remote areas.

The automatic compensation scheme for fixed broadband and landline consumers was established by Ofcom, the UK’s independent regulator for communication services. The Department has not, to date, received any data from Ofcom about the scheme. As set out in our previous answer, the Department’s understands that Ofcom intends to review the scheme next year.

The automatic compensation scheme for fixed broadband and landline consumers was established by Ofcom, the UK’s independent regulator for communication services. The Department has not, to date, received any data from Ofcom about the scheme. As set out in our previous answer, the Department’s understands that Ofcom intends to review the scheme next year.

The automatic compensation scheme for fixed broadband and landline consumers was established by Ofcom, the UK’s independent regulator for communication services. The Department has not, to date, received any data from Ofcom about the scheme. As set out in our previous answer, the Department’s understands that Ofcom intends to review the scheme next year.

The UK compares well on superfast connectivity and it is currently available to over 96% of UK premises, following over £1bn of public investment. This is above European counterparts like Spain, France and Germany. Demand for these services is also increasing with 45% of households now opting for a superfast service. This deployment is also supported by competition from ultrafast services of at least 100Mbps, currently available to 53% of UK premises.

We are now focussing on full fibre. Published last year, the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review set out our national strategy for ensuring 15m premises are able to connect to full fibre by 2025, with a nationwide network by 2033. Coverage is increasing quickly, and is now approaching 8% with around half of this coverage achieved in the last 12 months.

On 6 June 2019, the telecoms regulator Ofcom, responsible for implementing the USO, announced that customers will be able to request Universal Service Obligation (USO) connections from March 2020, in line with the Government’s commitment.

The USO will give customers the right to request a broadband connection with a download speed of at least 10Mbps. This download speed and the other quality parameters of the USO are in line with Ofcom’s advice on the needs of a typical household at present. However, recognising that take-up and use of broadband changes, the Government legislated to enable it to direct Ofcom to carry out reviews of the USO. Any review would look not just at the minimum download speed but all aspects of the USO specification. There is also a formal requirement for the Government to direct Ofcom to undertake a review when superfast broadband has been taken up by 75% of UK premises.

The USO is designed to act as a safety net to ensure everyone can access a minimum level of connectivity but the Government is also committed to investing to deliver faster speeds across the UK. Our Superfast programme has ensured superfast broadband (24mbps) coverage for over 96% of UK premises. Further, in the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, the Government committed to an “outside-in” approach to the deployment of gigabit capable broadband, which will ensure that the least commercial areas of the country get this type of connectivity at the same time as the market deploys to more commercial areas. The first step in this approach is the £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) Programme, which will test a model of connecting public sector buildings with gigabit capable connections, starting with primary schools. The RGC programme also has a rural gigabit broadband voucher component, offering up to £3,500 for small businesses and up to £1,500 for residents to encourage the take-up of gigabit-capable connectivity by residents and businesses in rural areas.

The UK compares well on superfast connectivity and it is currently available to over 96% of UK premises, following over £1bn of public investment. This is above European counterparts like Spain, France and Germany. Demand for these services is also increasing with 45% of households now opting for a superfast service. This deployment is also supported by competition from ultrafast services of at least 100Mbps, currently available to 53% of UK premises.

We are now focussing on full fibre. Published last year, the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review set out our national strategy for ensuring 15m premises are able to connect to full fibre by 2025, with a nationwide network by 2033. Coverage is increasing quickly, and is now approaching 8% with around half of this coverage achieved in the last 12 months.

In March 2017, Ofcom consulted on an automatic compensation scheme for fixed broadband and landline consumers. Following the consultation, providers serving 90% of these consumers agreed to introduce a voluntary automatic compensation scheme, which came into effect from 1 April 2019. The scheme compensates consumers for delayed repairs following a loss of service, missed repairs or appointments, and delays to the start of a new service. Ofcom plans to review the scheme, including the amount of compensation paid out by providers, next year.

The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, launched in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, will set out the regulatory and policy changes that are needed to support investment in full fibre networks and deliver on the Government’s ambition, as announced by the Chancellor in his CBI speech for fibre rollout: 15 million premises covered by 2025 with a national network by 2033. The Report is due to be published in due course.

The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, launched in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, will set out the regulatory and policy changes that are needed to support investment in full fibre networks and deliver on the Government’s ambition, as announced by the Chancellor in his CBI speech for fibre rollout: 15 million premises covered by 2025 with a national network by 2033. The Report is due to be published in due course.

The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, launched in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, will set out the regulatory and policy changes that are needed to support investment in full fibre networks and deliver on the Government’s ambition, as announced by the Chancellor in his CBI speech for fibre rollout: 15 million premises covered by 2025 with a national network by 2033. The Report is due to be published in due course.

The Government does not produce year-on-year figures on the cost to the UK economy of data breaches and malware attacks. The attached annual Cyber Security Breaches Survey, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cyber-security-breaches-survey contains details of the impact of breaches on individual businesses and charities.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was established in 2016 to help make the UK the safest place to live and do business online. To that end, the NCSC provides expert guidance for all organisations in the UK, large and small, including businesses and industry, government departments, the critical national infrastructure, universities and charities. Following this advice will enable these institutions and companies to put measures in place to help protect themselves from cyber attacks, and help to protect the UK’s economic prosperity and reputation.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has been alerted to incidents affecting companies, across a range of sectors in the UK, and which are judged to be a result of malicious cyber activity by the ‘Fin7’ group. Cyber Incident Response companies have since engaged with these firms. To date, government does not hold any information to confirm any significant data loss from these companies as a result of these incidents.

The NCSC’s weekly threat report, published on the NCSC website, highlighted activity by Fin7 in February and May 2017.