Committee publication · Correspondence · 2 March 2026
Correspondence from Minister for Digital Economy, re: follow-ups from 9 December oral evidence session on Digital inclusion and telecoms, 17 December 2025
From: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Inquiry: Digital inclusion and telecoms
Summary
Baroness Lloyd, Minister for Digital Economy, responds to follow-up questions from the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee's 9 December 2025 oral evidence session on telecoms and digital inclusion. The letter clarifies government definitions of 5G standalone technology, confirms operator commitments to achieve 99% population coverage by 2030, outlines Project Gigabit funding (£1.8 billion allocated to 2029/30), explains the government's 10.89% stake in Eutelsat/OneWeb, and provides workforce diversity data for the Government Digital Service.
Key findings
- Government defines 'standalone 5G' as higher-quality networks using dedicated 5G core and radio access with no reliance on 4G infrastructure; ambition is for all populated UK areas to have this by 2030.
- Three major operators have committed to standalone 5G coverage: VodafoneThree (99% population by 2030), EE (99% by Spring 2030), and Virgin Media O2 (70% already deployed).
- Project Gigabit allocated £1.8 billion for 2026/27–2029/30 to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to 99% of homes and businesses by 2032, with future funding dependent on Spending Reviews.
- UK government holds 10.89% stake in Eutelsat (post-OneWeb merger) and contributed €163 million to €1.5 billion capital raise in July 2025 to support national security and satellite communications capability.
- Government Digital Service workforce in digital/data roles is 42% female (308 women, 419 men), though figures are based on self-reported data with opt-out provisions.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Baroness Lloyd of Effra, Dame Chi Onwurah MP, VodafoneThree, EE/BT, Virgin Media O2, Eutelsat, OneWeb, Ofcom
Notable line
“Standalone 5G is 'higher quality' because it has the potential to provide more reliable, secure, higher-capacity networks.”
Key Quotes
“… the government considers a populated area to be one where people live and includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities.”
“Ensuring connectivity from multiple providers to remote areas would be prohibitively expensive. The commercial returns could not justify the costs nor would there be a compelling case for providing public funding.”
“The government has a 10.89% share in Eutelsat following its merger with OneWeb.”
“Eutelsat's business model focusing on business -to-business provision, whereas Starlink is designed for a direct-to-consumer approach …”
“… we remain fully committed to increasing these numbers and ensuring that women are not just represented but are leading the way in developing the government's digital future.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗