Insight article

About the Gigabit Take-up Advisory Group

All the details about the GigaTAG's work to help consumers and businesses take advantage of gigabit capable broadband
3 min read

What is the Gigabit Take-up Advisory Group (GigaTAG)?

To ensure that consumers and businesses are ready to take advantage of gigabit-capable broadband connections as they become available, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has asked Which?, the CBI and FSB to convene an Advisory Group to drive consumer and business take-up of gigabit speed internet connections. 

The Gigabit Take-up Advisory Group (GigaTAG) will advise on a strategic, evidence based approach to stimulating demand among consumers and businesses for gigabit-capable broadband connections. 

It will represent consumers and businesses across the whole of the UK and seek a wide range of views from a diverse range of stakeholders.

In Spring 2021, the GigaTAG will report back to the Government with a set of recommendations to help ensure that all consumers and businesses across the UK are ready to take advantage of the benefits of gigabit connectivity.

GIGATAG INTERIM REPORT

The GigaTAG has published its interim report setting out the barriers faced by consumers and business to adopting gigabit-capable broadband. It has also identified a number of outcomes that need to be achieved if gigabit-capable broadband is to be widely adopted and possible solutions that it will consider in more detail ahead of the final report. 

GIGATAG FINAL REPORT

The GigaTAG has now published its final report.

A call for evidence

To help inform the solutions that the GigaTAG may make to the Government, it is essential that the telecoms industry, businesses and other organisations are involved in the process.

The GigaTAG has issued a call for evidence on consumer and business take-up of gigabit connectivity and is seeking responses from a broad range of interested stakeholders, including individuals and organisations that have expertise and interest in this area – such as industry, consumer organisations, businesses and regulators.

The GigaTAG wants to hear any views and evidence on potential barriers and challenges to adoption, how these might be overcome, motivations for consumers and businesses to adopt these connections. 

This will help to ensure that the recommendations it makes are grounded in a strong evidence base from a range of different stakeholders with diverse views. Please send these to gigatag@which.co.uk.

Please let us know if you wish to respond but are unable to meet this deadline, or if you would like to feed in evidence in an alternative format.

Stakeholders

We are keen to hear from stakeholders throughout the process. The GigaTAG will be reaching out to some stakeholders on an ongoing basis throughout the process. Please get in touch at any stage using the contact details below.

Contact details

If you’d like to get in touch with us please email: gigatag@which.co.uk

  • Membership
  • Which? (Chair)
  • Confederation of British Industry (vice-Chair) 
  • Federation of Small Businesses (vice-Chair)
  • Ofcom 
  • Broadband Stakeholder Group 
  • Internet Service Providers’ Association 
  • Be the Business 
  • DCMS (observer)
  • Good Things Foundation (external advisor)

The importance of good connectivity

More than ever consumers rely on good internet connectivity not just for entertainment and to communicate with friends and family, but to engage with the economy: to work, shop and bank. 

It is vital that consumers and businesses across the UK have fast, reliable and stable internet if our economy is to thrive in a future defined by global communication.

Equally, connectivity has never been more important to businesses up and down the UK – from adopting remote-working technologies to the growth of e-commerce, reliable and fast internet is integral to business.  

Good connectivity is good for the economy – delivering improvements in productivity, transformations in public services, greater innovation and more flexible working. 

The Government’s ambition is for nationwide gigabit connectivity by 2025 – this will offer consumers and businesses high-speed, reliable connections wherever they are. 

Gigabit capable broadband is an internet connection that offers a speed of 1 gigabit per second or more (1 Gbps). These connections also provide greater reliability.

As the infrastructure for this connectivity becomes available in the near future, it will be essential that consumers and businesses take-up these fast, reliable connections.