This country requires new homes to have gigabit Internet connections
The United Kingdom (UK) has issued regulations that require new homes to be built with gigabit-capable broadband connections.
Amendments to building regulations ensure that new homes built in England will be fitted with infrastructure and connections capable of delivering gigabit broadband. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are not currently included.
The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said more people moving into new homes will have a gigabit-capable broadband connection ready when construction is completed.
It aims to avoid costly and disruptive installation work after the home is built and enable residents to take up the best possible Internet service when they move in.
Developers will be capped at a connection cost of £2,000 (R41,240) per home.
“Where a developer is unable to secure a gigabit-capable connection within the cost cap, developers must install the next fastest connection available,” the department said.
“And even where a gigabit-capable connection is not available within the cost cap, gigabit-ready infrastructure, such as ducts, chambers and termination points, still needs to be installed.”
“This will ensure that homes are fit for the digital age but may not be connected straight away,” it added.
Fibre broadband ad in UK suburb. Editorial credit: Simon Collins / Shutterstock.com
The department said its data showed that around 12% of newly built homes in the country did not have an end-to-end fibre connection one year from construction.
“The updated building rules mean home developers will be legally required to future-proof new homes in England for next-generation gigabit broadband as standard practice during construction.”
The UK has also published a new law seeking to make it easier to install faster Internet connection in blocks of flats where landlords ignore requests for access by broadband companies.
“The Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act, now in force in England and Wales, makes it easier for broadband providers to gain access to install equipment in blocks of flats, when a faster connection is requested by a tenant,” the department said.
“It is estimated that an extra 2,100 residential buildings a year will be connected as a result.”
The law provides for a court process that broadband operators can follow to access blocks of flats and apartments if a landlord is unresponsive to their requests to be granted access to the property.
“It will prevent situations where a tenant is unable to receive a service simply due to the silence of a landlord,” the department said.
“From the point where a company makes the first request to the landlord, it will take 35 days for this new rule to kick in.”
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