Stephen McPartland, Member of Parliament for Stevenage, has co-signed a new report from the British Infrastructure Group of MPs (BIG). It shockingly reveals that despite £1.7bn of taxpayers’ cash being pumped into subsidising the construction of UK high-speed broadband, there are still 5.7million people across Britain, including some in the Stevenage area, who cannot access the internet at the Ofcom required 10 Megabits per second.

Stephen McPartland MP said, "In 2016 people rightly expect access to high-speed internet connections. Whether at home or work, fast broadband should be a reality in all our communities. Sadly, this is not yet the case.

"While 53% of connections in Stevenage and the surrounding villages are at speeds of more than 30 Megabits per second, 28% of connections are at speeds less than the Ofcom-required 10 Megabits per second, with 3% of connections at speeds less than 2 Megabits per second. This means that some households and businesses are dealing with some really poor connections."

The BroadBad Report calls on the regulator Ofcom to take radical action over the ‘natural monopoly’ too long enjoyed by BT Openreach after all the delays and missed deadlines.

Stephen McPartland MP added, “I believe Britain should be leading the world in digital innovation.  Yet instead Britain suffers from having a BT-run monopoly clinging to outdated copper technology with no proper long-term plan for the future.“

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