Housing developers
must adopt council proposals for a new Fibre to the Premises Kitemark to
reassure homebuyers before completion that their new home will have a digital
connection fit for the 21st century, the LGA says.
Currently,
developers only have an obligation to connect water and electricity before a
property is sold, but do not have to pay any consideration to its broadband
connectivity.
With a digital
connection now widely seen as an everyday essential alongside traditional
utilities, it is vital home owners know what to expect when they buy a newly
built property.
Fibre to the
Premises connectivity (also known as FTTP), where optical fibre is run all the
way through to the premises, typically provides download speeds up to 1Gbps as
well as very high upload speeds.
New analysis by
thinkbroadband estimates that only 32 per cent of properties built in rural
England in 2017 are connected by FTTP broadband. Seventeen per cent of 2017
rural new builds are unable to achieve the Government’s broadband universal
service obligation’s minimum download speed of 10Mbps and upload speed of 1Mbps
which it aims to deliver by 2020.
While the
Government’s new draft of the National Planning Policy Framework aims to help
councils’ encourage developers to provide FTTP connections to existing and new
developments it does not give them powers to hold developers to account.
The LGA said
introducing a new FTTP Kitemark is a simple, common-sense proposal which will
make it clear to the public whether or not their new home will have a fully
future-proofed internet connection.
Cllr Mark Hawthorne,
Chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board, said: “Connecting our rural
residents to future-proofed, fast and reliable broadband is vital to helping
them get on in life and benefit from the advantages that decent digital connectivity
can bring.
“The standard of
digital connectivity we provide to our new build homes should reflect our
national ambition to roll out world-class digital infrastructure across the
country. Residents will no longer tolerate digital connectivity taking a
backseat in developers’ plans.
“We call on the
Government, homebuilders and the broadband industry to work with us and develop
the details of this proposal and give homebuyers the confidence to invest in a
new home, knowing they won’t be stuck in the digital slow lane.”
