Committee publication · Correspondence · 2 March 2026
Correspondence from Chair to Minister for Digital Economy, re: follow-ups from 9 December oral evidence session on Digital inclusion and telecoms, 22 January 2026
From: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Inquiry: Digital inclusion and telecoms
Summary
Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee writes to the Minister for Digital Economy seeking clarification on five specific areas arising from the 9 December oral evidence session on digital inclusion and telecoms: government thresholds for broadband deployment viability, targets for individual consumer 4G coverage beyond the Shared Rural Network's 95% landmass goal, infrastructure sharing policy in low-competition areas, the strategic security rationale for OneWeb investment, and outcomes from the Digital Inclusion Action Committee.
Key findings
- Committee seeks definition of population/density threshold below which Government deems broadband deployment economically unviable
- Questions whether Shared Rural Network's 95% landmass target translates to meaningful consumer coverage across all four operators
- Asks for clarity on Government's approach to compulsory infrastructure sharing versus incentivising new installation in low-competition areas
- Requests explanation of how OneWeb investment supports UK strategic security and resilience
- Seeks update on outcomes from Digital Inclusion Action Committee meeting held following the December evidence session
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Dame Chi Onwurah MP, Baroness Lloyd of Effra, Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Shared Rural Network, OneWeb
Notable line
“Are there any ambitions for the UK to achieve certain targets for individual consumers, without requiring access to four operators?”
Key Quotes
“Is there a threshold for the population or population density of an area that is considered to have "limited to no inhabitants", where the Government judges the deployment of broadband infrastructure not to be economically viable?”
“Could you set out how the Government will promote competition in areas where the infrastructure is delivered by alternative network providers – would you compel them to share infrastructure, or take steps to encourage more companies to install infrastructure?”
“How does it do this?”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗