Good news for the residents of the UK. The government is now mandating that newly built homes in the country should install access to a gigabit internet connection. This is in order to promote high-speed broadband.
The UK government approved two new regulations that require new housing construction projects to include gigabit internet and pre-existing tenants to have easier access to a high-speed internet connection.
UK Ministers Amend Law to Give People Fast Internet Connection
This week, the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) announced the new laws. The ministers amended Building Regulation 2010 to now include the two new laws.
The amendment in the law is an excellent move since about 12% of new homes, or about 25,300, built in the UK each year lack the infrastructure to support gigabit internet, according to PC Mag.
According to the department, with the updated regulations, more people who will be moving into new homes will have a gigabit-capable broadband connection ready once the construction is completed.
With this, people will be able to avoid the need for costly and disruptive installation work after the home is built.
With the new regulations, home developers will have to spend £2,000 (about $2,430) per home for the gigabit connection cost.
Approximately 98% of the properties fall under this new amendment, according to Gizmodo. With this, the department said that moving into a new build property without fast internet speeds will be a thing of the past for the majority of people living in the country.
Likewise, according to the department, gigabit broadband is now available in 72% of the UK. The new law is allowing people to move into new homes with an immediate connection to the Internet.
Meanwhile, for residences that were built in remote areas, the developers still need to install the next fastest broadband connection available.
The developers should also ensure that the newly built homes even in remote areas have the ducts and chambers necessary to one day facilitate gigabit internet.
Tenants in the UK Can Have Access to Fast Internet Connection Under New Law
The UK government introduced another law to make it easier to install faster internet connections into existing flats and apartments.
Previously, millions of tenants who are living in the UK's estimated 480,000 multi-dwelling units (MDUs) are required to obtain permission from the landowner before a new internet connection could be installed, as per The Verge.
According to broadband companies, around 40 percent of these requests from tenants are ignored by landlords. This leaves the tenants unable to upgrade their services.
Now, the government approved the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act 2021 (TILPA).
The law allows broadband providers in England and Wales to seek access rights via the court in case landlords or land owners don't respond to installation requests within 35 days.
According to Julia Lopez, Digital Infrastructure Minister, "Nothing should stop people from seizing the benefits of better broadband, whether it is an unresponsive landlord or a property developer's failure to act."
Lopez commended the new laws since because of these the renters will no longer be prevented from getting a broadband upgrade due to the silence of their landlord.
Likewise, she added that people who will be moving into newly built homes can be confident that they'll have access to the fastest Internet speeds.
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