Nov 14, 2019
General election 2019: Labour pledges free broadband for all
Labour has promised to give every home and business in the UK free full-fibre broadband by 2030, if it wins the general election. Broadband packages in the UK cost households an average of around £30, according broadband comparison site Cable - which people would no longer have to pay under Labour's scheme. According to a report from regulator Ofcom earlier this year, only 7% of the UK has access to full-fibre broadband - known as "Fibre to the home" or FTTH. The government hit its target to bring superfast broadband to 95% of homes by December 2017 - at a cost of £1.7bn - but the internet speeds are significantly lower than those of full-fibre. Labour has not yet completed the final details of how the internet giant tax would work saying it would be based 'percentage wise'' on global profits and UK sales, raising potentially as much as £6bn. Mr McDonnell said that if other broadband providers did not want to give access to British Broadband, then they would also be taken into public ownership. What is not clear is what happens to the wider broadband market - from Virgin Media and Sky to the raft of fibre broadband firms that have sprung up in recent years.
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