BT promises to bring broadband into rural areas costing up to £600m

Here’s why

BT is to roll out 10mbps of broadband into rural areas by 2020 which is good enough to stream film and video enabling others to be online at the same time.

The Universal Service Obligation was passed by the government this year after BT proposed to provide a minimal 10mbps of broadband, which has now been approved under a new law, called the Digital Economy Act.

Gavin Patterson, the chief executive for BT said: “We are pleased to make a voluntary offer to deliver the government’s goal for universal broadband access at minimum speeds of 10Mbps.

“This investment will reinforce the UK’s status as the leading digital economy in the G20. We already expect 95 per cent of homes and businesses to have access to superfast broadband speeds of 24Mbps or faster by the end of 2017.

“Our latest initiative aims to ensure that all UK premises can get faster broadband, even in the hardest to reach parts of the UK.”

Karen Bradley, the culture secretary said: “We warmly welcome BT’s offer and now will look at whether this or a regulatory approach works better for homes and businesses.

“Whichever of the two approaches we go with in the end, the driving force behind our decision making will be making sure we get the best deal for consumers.”

The government is to consider the offer from BT as it will be offered through Openreach.