New homes in England will be built with gigabit broadband connections and telecoms firms will be able to get faster broadband to nine million people living in blocks of flats across the UK.
New laws – amendments to the Building Regulations 2010 bill – will ensure that new homes constructed in England will be fitted with infrastructure and connections capable of delivering gigabit broadband.
Another new law has made it easier to install faster internet connections in blocks of flats when landlords repeatedly ignore requests for access from broadband firms.
The Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act (TILPA), now in force in England and Wales, makes it easier for broadband providers to gain access to install equipment in blocks of flats, when a faster connection is requested by a tenant.
It is estimated that an extra 2,100 residential buildings a year will be connected as a result.
The government says gigabit broadband is now available in over 72% of the UK and is already boosting productivity for millions working at home through lightning fast download speeds.
It also enables entire families to stream movies, TV and video games in high quality 4K and 8K definition onto multiple devices at the same time with no slowdowns in speed.
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“Nothing should stop people from seizing the benefits of better broadband, whether it is an unresponsive landlord or a property developer’s failure to act,” said Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez.
“Thanks to our new laws, millions of renters will no longer be prevented from getting a broadband upgrade due to the silence of their landlord, and those moving into newly built homes can be confident they’ll have access to the fastest speeds available from the day they move in.
“Driven by government policy, the market has made significant strides to ensure availability of gigabit connectivity in new homes – but thousands of homes each year do not get access.”
The updated building rules mean home developers will be legally required to future-proof new homes in England for next-generation gigabit broadband as standard practice during construction.
Connection costs will be capped at £2,000 per home for developers and they will work together with network operators to connect developments to the gigabit network. It is estimated over 98% of premises fall within this cap.
Where a developer is unable to secure a gigabit-capable connection within the cost cap, developers must install the next fastest connection available.