BT warns Boris Johnson's broadband target will be missed by years

BT has warned ministers that a target for upgrading the nation’s broadband will be missed by eight years without £9bn in cuts to tax and red tape.

The telecoms giant claims the industry is on course to deliver nationwide gigabit speeds by 2033, overshooting Boris Johnson’s pledge of 2025.

However, it said Britain’s broadband builders could still deliver the ambition by 2027, if sweeping reforms are made to support the telecoms sector.

BT has been pressing the Government to ease business rates on new broadband networks by extending a so-called tax “holiday” from five to 20 years.

Chief executive Philip Jansen said in January that such a move would be worth around £1bn to BT. But it is understood to have been told by officials that business rates will not be reconsidered until the next full review, which has been postponed from 2021 to 2023.

Alex Towers, BT’s director of policy and public affairs, said: “We must end the situation where BT and Virgin are actively penalised for investing in fibre.”

Mr Jansen cancelled investor payouts earlier this year worth £2.5bn to help meet the £12bn cost of bringing gigabit speeds to 20m homes within five years.

BT’s claims are based on a report by Analysys Mason, a research and consultancy business for the media and telecoms sector.

It found that full-fibre speeds would only reach 70pc of UK homes and businesses by 2025 after analysing 1.7m UK postcodes.

Complete coverage would not come until eight years later. As well as cuts to business rates on new broadband lines, it recommended an overhaul of the planning rules so engineers get the same land access as water companies, and the backing of local councils to use the latest digging equipment.

The measures would save the industry £9bn and reduce subsidies by making upgrades cheaper to deliver, it claimed.

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