Title page
Contents
Ministerial Foreword 3
Section 1. Overview of this call for evidence 4
Section 2. Background and current broadband programmes 7
2.1. What is a 'Very Hard to Reach' premises? 7
2.2. Ongoing programmes and market interventions 11
Section 3. Rationale for this call for evidence 18
Section 4. Topic A: Demand for improved broadband in Very Hard to Reach locations 21
4.1. Current Evidence on Demand 21
4.2. Why we are calling for further evidence 24
4.3. Summary of questions on demand, by type of respondent 24
Section 5. Topic B: Benefits of improved broadband in Very Hard to Reach locations 27
5.1. Current Evidence on Benefits 27
5.2. Why we are calling for further evidence 30
5.3. Summary of questions on benefits, by type of respondent 31
Section 6. Topic C: Barriers to delivering or accessing improved broadband in Very Hard to Reach locations 33
6.1. Current Evidence on Barriers 33
6.2. Why we are calling for further evidence 35
6.3. Summary of questions on barriers, by type of respondent 35
Section 7. Topic D: Approaches to supplying improved broadband in Very Hard to Reach locations 39
7.1. Current Evidence on Approaches 39
7.2. Summary 49
7.3. Why we are calling for further evidence 50
7.4. Summary of questions on approaches to supply, by type of respondent 50
Section 8. How to respond 54
8.1. How to respond - Consumers and Business users of Rural Telecommunications 54
8.2. How to respond - Market Participants (Providers, Suppliers, Vendors) 54
8.3. How to respond - Representative Organisations 54
8.4. Accessibility 55
8.5. Confidentiality and data protection 55
8.6. How we will use this information 56
Section 9. Questions & Answers 58
Appendix 1. Glossary of terms and acronyms 61
Appendix 2. Other Useful Information and Links 67
Table 2.1. Factors causing geographic isolation of premises 7
Table 2.2/Table 2.5. Public subsidy to recent Superfast procurements using FTTP 13
Table 3.1. Topics, evidence sought, and rationale 18
Table 4.1/Table 4.3. Number of registered businesses in Rural Hamlets & Isolated dwellings split by industry in England in 2019/20 23
Table 4.2/Table 4.4. Questions on demand 24
Table 5.1/Table 5.4. Questions on benefits 31
Table 6.1/Table 6.2. Questions on barriers 36
Table 7.1/Table 7.4. Questions on approaches 50
Figure 2.1/Figure 2.2. UK Premises by rurality 8
Figure 2.2/Figure 2.3. Maps of UK premises density (left) and the proportion of premises receiving sub-USO speeds (right) 10
Figure 2.3/Figure 2.4. Ongoing Superfast interventions by local authority area and Superfast availability by constituency 12
Figure 2.4/Figure 2.6. Case studies of Rural Gigabit Voucher projects 15
Figure 4.1. Percentages of homeworkers in England in 2019 22
Figure 4.2. Number of registered businesses per 10,000 population in England in 2019/20 23
Figure 5.1. Average minimum travel time to reach the nearest key services by public transport or walking in England in 2016 29
Figure 5.2. International Index of Agricultural Productivity 29
Figure 5.3. The impact improved connectivity on farms has on productivity 30
Figure 6.1. Rural businesses' constraints to going digital 35
Figure 7.1. Topologies for wireless and hybrid wireless gigabit networks 41
Figure 7.2. Orbits 44
Figure 7.3. FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction outcome (red = Starlink) 47
Figure 7.4. Conceptual coverage of HAPS using 4G/5G antenna, relative to UK landmass 48