England Makes Gigabit Internet a Legal Requirement for New Homes

Since the birth of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners Lee in 1989; the internet has grown in importance, gradually taking up vital aspects of our day-to-day lives. For example, you no longer need to leave the comfort of your home to go shopping as the internet already took care of that problem for you.

The same goes for fans of casino gaming. With iGaming platforms such as Vegas casino online available, there’s no urgency to visit brick-and-mortar casinos just to quench your gaming thirst for a few minutes. Players are always a click away from blowing off steam in their favorite casino games with no hassle of planning trips and travel budgets.

Following the introduction of 5G in the UK in late 2019, the government ramped up its effort to ensure its residents have access to faster gigabit internet via home broadband providers. So, to promote high-speed broadband across England, the government has introduced a requirement that all newly built homes in the country install access to gigabit internet. The new legislation is great news to homeowners, renters, and some leaseholders, as they will get significant upgrades on their internet speeds.

A New Dawn for England’s Residential Internet

In today’s world that demands internet connectivity almost on a 24/7 basis, the UK government’s decision will help millions of residents catch up to the realities of the modern age. While approximately 72% of the UK is currently connected to gigabit broadband, a very impressive number, this new legislation will ensure even fewer people are left behind.

A statement from the UK’s Department for Digital Culture, Media, and Sport lauded the move saying that it will cut the need for costly and ineffective work. The introduction of the amendment followed a 12-month consultative process which indicated that roughly 12% of 171,190 new homes in England did not have gigabit broadband upon completion.

Costs of Connection Capped

The new legislation, which was an amendment to the building regulations of 2010, came into effect on December 26th, 2022. This law has also introduced a cost cap of up to £2,000 per home. The said cost will be inclusive of the expense of installing infrastructure like chambers and ducts to set up high-speed internet.

If a gigabit connection within the set cost cap isn’t available, the law states that the homes will be fitted with the fastest internet connection within that price range. This particular part of the law will be helpful to people in remote areas who may struggle to raise the amount quoted. Be that as it may, the UK government estimates that 98 percent of England’s citizens will fall within the £2,000 cap.

Flats Legislation

The Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act (TILPA) has also been introduced, and it is set to make the Gigabit Internet legislation’s work easier. TILPA has removed all the stumbling blocks that previously made it tedious for tenants to install technology that supports faster internet in their flats.

Earlier, the law would require that tenants obtain permission from their landlords, who may ignore their requests. Now, the tenants in England and Wales can go to court if their landlords do not respond to their requests for installation within 35 days. This law is also expected to make its way to Scotland later in the year. Thanks to TILPA, an additional 2,100 homes are expected to have a gigabit internet connection every year.

UK’s Current Broadband Stats

As the years have gone by, the number of households connected to decent broadband in the UK has gradually increased. Based on Ofcom’s data, broadband coverage has progressively been improving across the United Kingdom since 2021.

 

Access to at Least 10Mbps	May 2021	September 2021	January 2022
UK	98%	98%	98%
England	99%	99%	99%
Northern Ireland	95%	95%	96%
Scotland	97%	97%	97%
Wales	97%	97%	98%

As you can see, England is ahead of its counterparts in the region regarding coverage of internet speeds above 10MBps. And with the introduction of the new regulation, the nation is about to be miles ahead of the other UK nations before they start playing catch up.

The United States is Also Working Towards Internet Upgrades

The United States has also been fighting similar problems to the UK, where many ISPs collude with landlords to block access to competitors. Like the UK, USA’s FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has also had numerous rule revisions in a bid to tackle such problems.

In the meantime, the US lacks a similar law to its UK counterpart. That said, the FCC has spent billions over the years trying to bring high-speed internet to as many places as possible across the country.