§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the recently-announced target from Oftel of making the United Kingdom the best environment for e-commerce by the end of 2002 is consistent with their own policy in this area of the United Kingdom having the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G7 by 2005. [HL1168]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)Oftel does not have a target related to e-commerce. The Government's targets can be found inSpending Review: Public Service Agreements 2001–2004; (Cm 4808, July 2000) and UK Online: the broadband future (Feb 2001).
§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they can provide a geographical breakdown of Oftel's recent assertion that 60 per cent of United Kingdom households have access to digital subscriber line (DSL) [HL1169]
115WA
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleOftel's November 2001 ADSL Factsheet reported that 60 per cent of UK households were connected to an ADSL-enabled exchange. The publicationUK Online: the broadband future features a geographical breakdown of the availability of broadband technologies, including ADSL. An updated version of this map will shortly be placed in the Libraries of the House.
§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
What data transfer speeds they use to determine whether an Internet connection can be defined as "broadband" (a) in respect of the commercial market and (b) in respect of the residential market. [HL1172]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleInUK Online: the Broadband Future, the Government offered an initial definition of broadband as always-on, unmetered Internet services with a downstream (from supplier to home or business user) speed of more than 384 kbit/s.