HC Deb 19 October 2001 vol 372 cc1374-5W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the pricing structure for broadband used by BT and the cable companies. [8103]

Mr. Alexander

British Telecom and the cable companies set broadband prices on a commercial basis. As I have already made clear, they need to be driving these prices down, and demand up, so that more consumers have the opportunity to benefit from fast, always-on, access to the internet. Equally, prices must be set at fair levels. The Director General of Telecommunications has powers under the Competition Act 1998 to act where any company has entered into an anti-competitive agreement or is abusing a dominant position. He also has powers to take action if any licensed operator is not acting in accordance with the terms of its licence.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with BT about introducing broadband; and if she will make a statement. [8100]

Mr. Alexander

Ministers and officials meet BT regularly to discuss BT's role in introducing broadband services across the UK. 60 per cent. of UK households are now connected to a BT ADSL enabled exchange. This represents a significant investment by BT in broadband Britain. I have recently challenged BT to do more to exploit this investment more aggressively so that the benefits of broadband are spread to as wide a market as possible.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what comparable figures for broadband connection she has collated for the United Kingdom's G9 partners. [8102]

Mr. Alexander

As set out in 'UK Online: the broadband future', published in February 2001, international comparisons on broadband are patchy; however, in this strategy document the Office of the E-Envoy committed to undertaking a rolling programme of research.

In addition, the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) published in January 2001 its report on international benchmarking of DSL and cable modem services. This compared the market for these technologies in the UK with that of France, Germany and the US. The study highlights that reliable and consistent data for all the G8 countries are difficult to obtain. However, Oftel will continue this programme of international benchmarking of broadband prices and roll-out.

I am aware that a forthcoming OECD study of the development of broadband access will compare, among other things, the levels of connection in OECD members, which include the G7 countries.

Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the United Kingdom has access to broadband; and what forecasts she has made for its future introduction [8101]

Mr. Alexander

Availability of broadband services via cable, ADSL or wireless technology stands at around 66 per cent. of consumers and small businesses. The Government, in partnership with industry, are taking a number of measures in order to make the broadband market more extensive and competitive, building on the recent progress in advancing access across the country. However, the broadband market is at an early stage, and any forecasts are liable to be speculative.