Super-fast broadband will be a vital part of the digital economy’s infrastructure. This briefing suggests how to make it a reality.

Key recommendations

• A radical new deal with the telecommunications industry would deliver superfast broadband at minimal immediate cost to consumers or government
• Ofcom should provide radio spectrum access rights to communications companies in return for installing a fibre-optic broadband network
• This will deliver the universal super-fast broadband network the UK will need to compete in a digital world 
• As part of this deal, broadband providers should deliver free, basic broadband services to the most deprived households in the UK

Nesta estimates that the provision of universal super-fast broadband could directly create 600,000 new ICT jobs, with £18 billion added to GDP. The indirect effects could be far larger. However the fibre optic infrastructure needed to make this happen is expensive.

This policy briefing looks at how government could use the levers at its disposal to improve nationwide broadband access.