The Labour Party has announced it will provide all homes and businesses will free full-fibre broadband if it wins the general election.
The party says it would part-nationalise BT, estimated at £20 billion. A new tax on tech giants would be introduced to cover the cost. The policy would be fully rolled out by 2030.
Boris Johnson has pledged to spend £5 billion to bring full-fibre broadband to every home by 2025 if the Conservatives win the election.
Commenting on Labour’s policy, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Conservative plans are “not enough”. He said he the UK was falling behind other countries.
Only 8-10 per cent of premises in the UK are connected to full-fibre broadband, compared to 97 per cent in Japan and 98 per cent in South Korea.
Labour’s part-nationalisation of BT would cover it digital network arm Openreach, to create government-owned ‘British Broadband’. Current shareholders would be compensated through government bonds.
