Government Minister Targets Collaboration During Connected Britain Speech

At London’s Excel Centre two weeks ago, the Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms, Sir Chris Bryant, gave his first major speech since taking on the role. His presentation, like his ministerial brief, was wide-ranging. He gave little detail on any significant policy plans and instead highlighted his desire to collaborate with industry to help improve connectivity across Britain.

Over the two days of the Connected Britain event, I was struck how much of the conversation turned to the new government and what private sector companies and public sector bodies thought of the incoming administration. The overriding feeling was one of optimism, with different representatives from the fibre industry saying they didn’t expect or need vast sums of money; they wanted certainty with no merry-go-round of ministers or sudden changes in policy direction.

Sir Chris touched on multiple issues during his 15-minute presentation. He asked the industry to “help fix the foundations”, a slogan used by other ministerial departments in the past few months. He set out how his department wanted to see investment-driven competition — something Vodafone and Three would like the sound of. He emphasized the government’s role in supporting business, in making “timely and swift” actions, using a regulatory “light touch where it can be”, and the importance of a “stable fiscal framework”.

The minister went on to say that he reserved the right to interfere when necessary, but would aim to promote fair competition. For example, he discussed the trouble multidwelling units face in installing full fibre owing to the need to gain multiple permissions; his department will support efforts to give these buildings high-speed Internet access while maintaining wholesale competitiveness. He also highlighted his desire for greater cooperation between fixed-line providers to prevent unnecessary infrastructure, notably telegraph poles.

Sir Chris talked about cellular connections and the need to continue eradicating “not spots” in rural areas through the shared rural network scheme. He also stressed his desire to overcome poor coverage in urban areas, drawing on his personal experience of not being able to get online at a Kylie Minogue concert last summer. This area could certainly be improved, and CCS Insight has seen at first hand some of the investments that operators are already making to boost connectivity at large-scale music festivals.

One topic that piqued the interest of the audience in the packed-out keynote theatre was improving connectivity on trains — something I agree urgently needs more work. The minister seemed keen to find solutions, and even asked the audience to email their suggestions to him.

Improved connectivity can help solve other problems facing the new government. Sir Chris indicated that net zero would not be possible without connectivity, referencing smart meters as a key way to achieve this goal. Virtual monitoring, facilitated through a strong 5G standalone network, could be a way to improve the social care crisis and relieve the strain on the NHS.

Improving connectivity involves replacing older technology, and the minister revealed that the UK’s public switched telephone network keeps him “awake at night” as the government looks for ways to help the industry retire 3 million telecare devices and migrate vulnerable customers to more-modern technology.

The minister’s speech also mentioned satellite connectivity — with a promise of more details “soon” — as well as network security, resilience and the government’s work with Ofcom to ensure power backups across the whole UK, not just in certain areas. A topic not covered was the threat of digital attacks and how the government plans to protect critical infrastructure.

The lack of any headline policy in this speech wasn’t surprising, given the landscape of the UK’s finances and the desire to keep them stable. Once the government budget is published next month, we may get a clearer picture of how the minister intends to connect everyone in society.

As a first-time attendee at Connected Britain, I was pleased to see bridging the digital divide as a major theme of the event. With an estimated 1.5 million people in the UK living in digital poverty, with limited or no connectivity, it is a problem that needs to be addressed as both a cause and consequence of economic poverty. Labour’s manifesto promised to “make a renewed push to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit and national 5G coverage by 2030.” Yet the minister’s speech at Connected Britain shared little about how the government plans to achieve these goals.

The commitment to gigabit coverage does seem within reach. The highly competitive fibre market, witnessing breakneck roll-out rates, creates cause for optimism. In addition, Project Gigabit has been very successful in improving connectivity in rural areas and has demonstrated how public-private partnerships can thrive, with Ofcom recently trumpeting that gigabit-capable broadband coverage will reach 97% of premises by the end of 2027.

I’m sceptical, though, that nationwide coverage of 5G can be achieved by 2030 at the current rate of investment. The merger of Vodafone and Three, which appears to have a path toward approval now, may go some way to improving the situation, with the promise of an £11 billion investment by the new entity and a more competitive market. The government could also look to the shared rural network for inspiration to achieve national 5G coverage, replicating the cooperation between operators and government that has improved 4G coverage.

A central plank of Labour policy is planning reform, with the aim of cutting red tape, especially in green belt areas. Planning reform would help an industry that has always felt hamstrung by regulation. This could help with the building of phone masts in “not spot” areas, as well as improving the fixed-line network and the availability of 5G. The new government is also looking to support the building of 1.5 million new homes by July 2029, which will add greater impetus to the fibre market.

Sir Chris showed he is keen to tackle major problems like the digital divide, and telecom leaders should be encouraged by his emphasis on collaboration. I await with interest the unveiling of major policy plans to help meet his goal of improving connectivity across Britain.