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Before anyone asks, Broadband IS a Health & Safety issue! Not only because the lack of good Broadband speeds has a detrimental affect upon the work that USRs do, e.g. timely reporting of incidents, investigations, research and continued education; but because many USRs are working within the areas of broadband provision. Any changes to competition rules and the ability of their employers to maintain a key market position, will have possibly negative consequences for the physical and mental health of those working within Broadband provision that USRs cover. An increase in USR workload as a result, is a legitimate H&S concern; as is the welfare of those employed in the field of broadband provision. Ofcom have decided that Broadband provision competition should be stepped up as a way of ensuring every household in the UK has access to fast Broadband services. Accordingly they have issues a consultation document, with a deadline of 7th June 2019 for responses. Ofcom says on their website: Demand for fixed and mobile broadband connections is growing rapidly, from both people and businesses. To meet this demand, sizeable investment is needed to upgrade the UK’s broadband infrastructure. Whether to support fibre to the home broadband, connections to 5G mobile stations, or seamless business connectivity, more fibre networks will be needed to support the next generation of services in the UK. The UK Government has also signaled strong support for full fibre and wants 15 million premises to be connected by 2025. Our goal is to support investment and competition in ultrafast services, to as many people and businesses as possible. In July 2018 we set out our broad strategy to support investment and competition in ultrafast services. Our strategy is to secure investment in fibre networks by both BT and other companies by promoting network-based competition. We want to encourage BT's competitors to build networks rather than rely on access to the Openreach network. Competition is the best means to ensure continued investment in building and maintaining high quality, future-proofed telecoms networks. Making sure alternative operators have a fair opportunity to invest at low cost is critical to this strategy. This means giving them access to the same benefits BT has to re-use existing duct and pole infrastructure on equivalent terms. This is being delivered through our physical infrastructure market review. This document sets out our initial views on regulatory measures for wholesale fixed telecoms markets from 2021 which we think will, in combination with duct and pole access, best achieve our strategy to secure investment by promoting network-based competition. You can download the Consultation document from the Unionsafety E-Library using key world 'OFCOM' Source: OFCOM / Unionsafety
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