Culture Secretary urges release of 'broadband maps' to public

Culture Secretary urges release of 'broadband maps' to public

Culture Secretary Maria Miller has called for secret maps showing which areas in the UK are to have their broadband services upgraded, to be made public.

The detailed maps show which areas across the country are on the list to have upgrades to their broadband networks, but they are currently not for public consumption. Ms Miller made a request in response to a BT statement aimed at the Public Accounts Committee. In its statement, the telecommunications giant said that it had “no objection” to the details and maps being made public, but said that certain local councils were not keen on the idea.

The Telegraph newspaper reported that Miller’s letter read: “Concerns have been raised about whether information on the areas which will, or will not, be covered by the current projects can be made available. This information will help other broadband providers and community groups determine whether it is worth their while to develop local broadband projects to fill in gaps in coverage."

“It will also help clarify the position of those community broadband projects whose schemes are already planned in some detail. I am keen to see this information made available,” the letter added.

Ms Miller confirmed that she believed local communities had the right to know whether or not they were in line to receive the broadband upgrades. However, she did also say that many rural areas of the country would fall into the “might be covered” category, so they would not be any the wiser following the publication of the maps.

“Significant numbers of premises will be in the ‘to be confirmed’ category and coverage will depend on the precise roll-out plans for each local area which will be developed over a period of time. Provided these limitations are made clear, my strong preference is for this information to be made available,” Ms Miller wrote.

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