The DoI does not collate data on how many social housing tenants have reported issues accessing fibre broadband due to additional property works being required.
Answering a Tynwald question, Minister Dr Michelle Haywood said the information isn’t collected as fibre broadband is not included within landlord obligations.
Dr Haywood also noted that “support to access fibre broadband is not included under the terms of public sector tenancy agreements”.
She added: “Accordingly, the Department is unable to quantify how many properties would require additional works to enable access to fibre broadband, as it does not collect or hold the necessary data.”
Trenching
While residents generally do not pay for standard installation, Dr Haywood said: “If an address requires additional external trenching or ducting within the property boundary, there may be extra costs payable by the tenant.”
In a separate answer, the Minister for Enterprise Tim Johnston, whose department also holds no data on the matter, explained that connection costs are determined by providers.
“Where neither telegraph poles nor underground ducts are present, customers seeking a connection may be required to fund the installation of new infrastructure across their land,” he said.
His department does not provide financial support for connections.
However, Mr Johnston added: “The Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority (CURA) is actively considering the introduction of socially targeted tariffs for broadband services.”
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