• The UK government is focused heavily on connectivity for its citizens, recently passing a regulation mandating the inclusion of gigabit connections in newly built homes. 
• The regulation was passed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS).
• Moving forward property developers must install gigabit-ready infrastructure, along with a cost cap of £2 000 per home.

Earlier this month the UK government passed a rather interesting new regulation as it pertains to connectivity. This as it has mandated the inclusion of gigabit connections in newly built homes moving forward, with the aim of making it easier for citizens in England to access gigabit lines and speed.

The new legislation was introduced on 26th December last year, following a 12-month period of technical consultation. Here the government found that an estimated 12 percent of newly constructed homes did not have the necessary infrastructure for gigabit connectivity access, which is something it wishes to remedy.

“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,” highlighted Julia Lopez, the UK’s Digital Infrastructure Minister, in a statement, regarding the legislation.

Outlined as an amendment to the 2010 Building Regulations, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), says that property developers now need to make allowances for gigabit-ready infrastructure in new homes, along with setting a cost cap on integrating said lines at £2 000 per home.

Should a developer not be able to make the infrastructure available within the aforementioned cap, which includes termination points, they will need to provide the highest possible speed.

As such, it will be interesting to see whether developers use this as a potential loophole for not going the entire gigabit route.

For now, though, it looks like a good way of ensuring that those purchasing or renting a newly constructed home in England, will be able to work from home, or indeed enjoy entertainment, with a gigabit line readily available.

“Thanks to our new laws, millions of renters will no longer be prevented from getting a broadband upgrade due to the silence of their landlord, and those moving into newly built homes can be confident they’ll have access to the fastest speeds available from the day they move in,” added Lopez.

While this new legislation applies to England, developers constructing in other UK countries – Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – need not adhere.

[Image] – Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash