Broadband (Hansard, 14 February 2003)

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of broadband telecoms is controlled by BT outside cable franchise areas. [97235]

§ Mr. Timms
[holding answer 11 February 2003]: According to the Oftel Internet and Broadband Brief for January 2003, cable television services were available to 13.3 million homes (over 53 per cent. of households in UK) at the end of December 2002. Broadband services are also available over ADSL, fixed wireless and satellite. These were available respectively to 63 per cent., 12 per cent. and 100 per cent. of UK households. BT's share of the total retail broadband market is some 22 per cent. We have made no specific analysis of the UK market without areas covered by cable television networks.

§ Mr. David
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regional boundaries are being used for the allocation of 3.4 GHz wireless broadband licences. [98168]

§ Mr. Timms
The Wireless Telegraphy (Public Fixed Wireless Access Licences), Regulations 2002 Si No. 1911, which came into force on 12 August 2002, provide for the award of 15 Public Fixed Wireless Access (PFWA) regional licences. There are seven metropolitan and seven provincial licence regions for Scotland Wales and England and one provincial licence for Northern Ireland.
65W
The regions are:

Central Scotland (Metropolitan)

Greater London (Metropolitan)

Midlands (Metropolitan)

Northern (Metropolitan)

Severnside (Metropolitan)

South Coast (Metropolitan)

Tyne-Tees (Metropolitan)

Midlands and Mid Wales (Provincial)

Northern Ireland (Provincial)

North of England (Provincial)

North West, Yorkshire and North Wales (Provincial)

Scotland (Provincial)

South East (Provincial)

Southern (Provincial)

South West and South Wales (Provincial)

I have placed a copy of the map and the post code details of these in the Libraries of the House.

§ Mr. David
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultation has taken place with the National Assembly for Wales on the allocation of 3.4 GHz wireless broadband licences. [98169]

§ Mr. Timms
Consultation on the allocation of 3.4 GHz public fixed wireless access (PFWA) licences began on 19 December 2000, when the Radiocommunications Agency ("RA"), on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ("SoS"), published a consultative document entitled 3.4 and 10 GHz: Scenarios for Spectrum Packaging and Delivery ("the December Consultation Document"). This Consultation Document presented a number of scenarios for packaging and delivering licences to establish and use stations and apparatus for wireless telegraphy in the 3.4 GHz and 10 GHz bands for the provision of Fixed Wireless Access services ("FWA") (referred to in this paper as "spectrum licences", "licences" or "FWA licences").
Following a detailed review of the responses to the December Consultation Document and the completion of further technical studies in the 3.4 GHz and 10 GHz bands a further consultation document, "PFWA: Proposal by the RA to package and deliver licences at 3.4GHz", published in April 2002, set out the proposal to award spectrum licences for the 3.4 GHz band.
Both consultations were carried out nationally and all Government Departments and devolved Administrations were invited, along with industry and the public, to be involved and comment on the proposals. Among the many comments received and meetings held, RA received input and held discussions with officials of the National Assembly for Wales on numerous occasions.