{"id":29631,"date":"2023-01-12T14:48:22","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T14:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/12\/england-makes-gigabit-broadband-a-requirement-for-all-new-home-builds\/"},"modified":"2023-01-12T14:48:22","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T14:48:22","slug":"england-makes-gigabit-broadband-a-requirement-for-all-new-home-builds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/12\/england-makes-gigabit-broadband-a-requirement-for-all-new-home-builds\/","title":{"rendered":"England Makes Gigabit Broadband A Requirement For All New Home Builds"},"content":{"rendered":"

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from the if-you-build-it-they-will-come<\/i> dept<\/h3>\n

England has taken a big step toward crushing the digital divide with new rules requiring that all new home builds must include gigabit (1000 Megabits per second, Mbps) broadband. Estimates suggest that around 12 percent of the 171,190 new homes constructed in England last year didn\u2019t have gigabit broadband capabilities upon completion. <\/p>\n

Amendments to\u00a0Building Regulations 2010<\/a> require that all new builds have gigabit-capable connections, though there is a construction cost cap of \u00a32,000 per home. According to the government\u2019s new guidance<\/a>, if a gigabit line can\u2019t be found within that price range, the next-fastest speed available has to suffice.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure this will be quite as transformative as headlines suggest. Readying a home for gigabit broadband isn\u2019t the same thing as actually delivering gigabit broadband. It can often cost users tens of thousands of dollars (sometimes hundreds of thousands<\/a>) to get ISPs to expand \u201clast mile\u201d access to your home. Still, mandating that new homes are gigabit ready is useful. <\/p>\n

The new laws also make it easier for ISPs to gain access to homes or apartments for broadband installs should landlords prove unresponsive:<\/p>\n

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Previously, tenants living in the UK\u2019s estimated 480,000 blocks of flats and apartments (also known as multi-dwelling units, or MDUs) would usually have had to wait for a landlord\u2019s permission to have a broadband operator enter their building to install a faster connection. These access rights are essential for the delivery of broadband upgrades as operators are unable to deploy their services without first obtaining permission, either from the landowner or a court, to install their equipment.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Like here in the States, there\u2019s an awful lot of shenanigans where ISPs work in concert with landlords to block access to competitors. It\u2019s taken the FCC here in the States decades<\/strong> and numerous rule revisions to even try<\/strong> and tackle that problem. But it remains very much a work in progress<\/a>, as deep-pocketed telecom monopolies and their lawyers often tap dance around the requirements. <\/p>\n

While many landlords are<\/strong> annoying and difficult, telecom giants often like to over-state landlords\u2019 role in the overall lack of quality broadband deployments. That was evident in New York City, where Verizon flaked on a 2008 agreement to wire the whole city with fiber, then repeatedly tried to exclusively blame landlords <\/a>for the company\u2019s own (well in character) failure to follow through on the agreement.<\/p>\n

There are other policies that are common sensical that we just don\u2019t do because it would (gasp) make it easier to drive competition into monopoly markets. Such as \u201cdig once\u201d requirements that all new highway builds come with fiber-ready conduit already installed. This sort of policy is a no brainer, yet in the U.S. meaningful mandates on this front always seem stuck just around the next corner<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\nFiled Under: dig once<\/a>, digital divide<\/a>, fiber<\/a>, gigabit<\/a>, high speed internet<\/a>, landlords<\/a>, telecom policy<\/a>, uk<\/a>
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