Labour will give FREE ultra-fast broadband for every home and business through a renationalised BT

Labour are going to give free ultra-fast broadband to every home and business through a partly renationalised BT paid for by taxing the likes of Google and Apple.

‘It’s visionary I accept that, but other countries are having these visions and we’re not,’ Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC on Thursday night.

Mr McDonnell estimated it will cost around £20billion to bring in fibre to every household and business by 2030.

He says ‘British Broadband’ would be achieved by nationalising parts of BT and imposing a new tax on big tech multinationals. 

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell speaking in London on Wednesday, he told the BBC tonight: ‘It’s visionary I accept that, but other countries are having these visions and we’re not’

McDonnell said Labour were planning on introducing a new tax on multinationals which profit from the internet like Google, Amazon and Apple

McDonnell said Labour were planning on introducing a new tax on multinationals which profit from the internet like Google, Amazon and Apple

WHAT IS FIBRE OPTIC BROADBAND?

Fibre optic cables involve tiny tubes that are about as thick as a human hair and are reflective on the inside.

They transfer information by sending flashes of light through the tubes.

This bounces off the reflective walls and along the cable. 

These flashes of data are then received and interpreted at the other end.  

Mr McDonnell told the public broadcaster: ‘So, particularly those internet multinationals, the ones that gain their incomes from the internet – the Apples, the Googles, the Amazons of this world – and in that way we’ll pay for the day-to-day costs.’ 

It rivals a pledge by Boris Johnson to spend £5billion to get fibre optic broadband into every home.

According to a report by Ofcom only around seven percent of homes in the UK has access to fibre.

The average household pays roughly £30 per month for their broadband, around £360 each year that Labour say they will do away with.

Jeremy Corbyn will make the announcement in Lancaster on Friday and describe the new free public service as central to Labour’s plans to transform the country and economy, bringing communities together in an ‘inclusive and connected society’. 

The roll-out would begin with communities that have the worst broadband access, including rural and remote communities and some inner city-areas, followed by towns and smaller centres, then by areas currently well served by super-fast or ultra-fast broadband. 

They said there would be a one-off capital cost to roll-out the full-fibre network of £15.3 billion, in addition to the Government’s existing and not yet spent £5 billion commitment.

In a speech on Friday, Mr Corbyn will say: ‘A new public service delivering the fastest broadband free to everyone is at the heart of Labour’s plans to transform the future of our economy and society.

‘The internet has become such a central part of our lives. It opens up opportunities for work, creativity, entertainment and friendship.

‘What was once a luxury is now an essential utility.’

The Shadow Chancellor claims this is nowhere near enough and said he was inundated with complaints about the state of the internet while travelling throughout the country. 

‘Apart from some parts of London, and some of our major cities, everywhere I go they’re saying: ‘Oh, we’ve either not got broadband at the speeds that we need, it’s holding our economy back.” He told the BBC.

Labour has already announced it will nationalise water and rail, but Mr McDonnell said they would draw the line at broadband.

‘It is the the limit of our ambitions,’ he told the broadcaster.

The Apple Store on Regent Street In London

The Apple Store on Regent Street In London

The new company, British Broadband, would cost £230million to run, Mr McDonnell claimed, and that cost would be covered by Labour’s multinationals tax.

The party will also announce plans for a new Charter of Digital Rights, describing it as ‘the strongest protection of data and online rights ever enacted’.

They said they will consult on its contents, which could include powers for individuals and collectives to challenge algorithmic injustice, powers for individuals and collectives to prevent the use of digital infrastructure for surveillance, and rights for individuals to protect access to and ownership of their data.  

The UK lags behind some of our European counterparts in terms of infrastructure, a gap which has been acknowledged by both of the main parties.   

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk