CLA calls for Universal Service Obligation to be enshrined in law

The organisation which represents the interests of land, property and business owners in rural England and Wales, has called for the new Universal Service Obligation (USO) regarding superfast broadband speeds to be enshrined in law.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) believes legal accountability has to be introduced to make sure planned delivery of broadband services are achieved by the end of 2020.

The CLA has asked for 10Mbps to be set as a bare minimum benchmark speed. They have also called for this to be amended as there is the potential that the speeds, which would be workable up until 2020, would be insufficient five to six years after that time.

CLA president Ross Murray said in a statement: "A USO that can guarantee sufficient bandwidth will transform rural areas and must be enshrined in law. Only around half of homes and businesses in the countryside can get online at a speed higher than 10Mbps. In addition, one in five rural premises cannot access speeds higher than 5Mbps.”

Ofcom is actively seeking responses to its consultation period on the new Universal Service Obligation (USO), which it anticipates submitting the results to the government by the end of the year.

Currently, the USO for broadband speeds is just 28.8Kbps. With the booming technology industry in the UK, this has become outdated. In October, prime minister David Cameron announced a new USO pledging speeds of at least 10Mbps.

In addition to the legal enshrining, the organisation also wants the government to legally guarantee customers can receive compensation when they do not receive speeds of at least 10Mbps.

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