Establishing world-class connectivity throughout the UK Contents

Contents

Terms of Reference

2 Where we are today

Connectivity for small businesses

Connectivity in the devolved Nations

Northern Ireland

Mobile coverage

A new Electronic Communications Code

3 Reaching the final five per cent

Alternative technologies

Support for local communities

Providing access to backhaul

Further public subsidy?

Supporting start-ups

Towns and cities

4 A right to broadband

10Mbps: too much or not enough?

SMEs and connectivity

Design of a USO

Ownership of USO

5 A fibre future

Access to ducts and poles

6 Openreach’s performance since 2005

Quality of service

Level of investment

7 A new broadband utility?

Incentive to invest in national infrastructure

8 An independent Openreach?

Conclusions and recommendations

Annex: Specialist Advisers’ advice to the Committee

Investment in superfast broadband: Regulation, competition and the cost of capital

I. Introduction

II. The need for broadband investment

a. What sort of speed and capacity do people require?

b. What is the capability of current solutions?

c. Future developments for copper based services

d. Ultrafast broadband services

III. Regulatory treatment of investment

a. The RAB model

b. Applying RAB to the communications sector

c. New products and services

d. Introduction of competition

IV. The role of competition

a. Regulation for competition

b. Functional separation

c. Access to ducts and poles

d. Regulatory approaches to fibre

V. Openreach’s cost of capital and investment

a. Ofcom’s assessment of Openreach’s cost of capital

b. Openreach’s capital budgeting approach

c. How can Ofcom encourage Openreach to invest?

d. Financing of investment

e. Separation of Openreach and the cost of capital

Published written evidence

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament

© Parliamentary copyright

18 July 2016