HC Deb 30 April 2001 vol 367 cc450-1W
Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to fast track regulatory changes, in anticipation of establishing OFCOM, in order to speed up broadband access in the UK. [159478]

Ms Hewitt

[holding answer 27 April 2001]: The Government's plans to facilitate roll-out of higher bandwidth and broadband services are set out in "UK online: the broadband future", which was published on 13 February 2001. These plans are not dependent on regulatory changes. Legislation to establish OFCOM, as proposed in "A New Future for Communications" (Cm 5010) published on 12 December 2000, will be brought forward at the earliest opportunity.

Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what targets his Department has(a) for broadband access by UK households and (b) for the number of companies providing broadband access to UK households. [159479]

Ms Hewitt

[holding answer 27 April 2001]: As the Government announced in the recent White Paper "Opportunities for All in a World of Change", our goal is for the UK to have the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G7 by 2005. This commitment was backed up by the publication of an action plan, "UK online: the broadband future", which set out how the Government will facilitate the roll-out of higher bandwidth and broadband services across the country.

"UK online: the broadband future" also described the difficulties in assessing how quickly demand for these services will grow at such an early stage of this market. This analysis still holds and we believe that it would be premature to set targets of the sort that the hon. Member describes. DTI in collaboration with the e-Envoy, and aided by the recently established Broadband Stakeholder Group, will continue to monitor and assist the development of this important new technology.

Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to ensure that Oftel will be equipped with adequate personnel with the relevant technical expertise to regulate competition in the broadband market. [159477]

Ms Hewitt

[holding answer 27 April 2001]: The staffing of Oftel is a matter for the Director General. Total resources for Oftel have been increased by 18 per cent. for 2001–02 compared with 2000–01. I and my colleagues meet the Director General from time to time to discuss a range of issues including the development of the broadband market.