Internet in the United Kingdom: Difference between revisions

The [[United Kingdom]] has been involved with the [[Internet]] throughout its origins and development. The [[Telecommunications in the United Kingdom|telecommunications infrastructure in the United Kingdom]] provides [[Internet access]] to homes and businesses mainly through [[Fiber-optic communication|fibre]], [[Cable Internet access|cable]], [[Cellular network|mobile]] and [[fixed wireless]] networks, with the UK's 140-year-old copper network, maintained by [[Openreach]], set to be withdrawn by December 2025, although this has since been extended to 31st January 2027 in some areas due to reasons including panic alarms in sheltered housing needing a persistent connection which can't be guaranteed with internet-based DECT systems.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BT presses on with analogue switch off across UK |url=https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366555512/BT-presses-on-with-analogue-switch-off-across-UK |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=ComputerWeekly.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Till |first=Lucy |date=2024-05-24 |title=BT Announces Delay in BT Switch Off to 2027 |url=https://telgroup.co.uk/bt-switch-off-delay-2027/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Tel Group |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[List of Internet top-level domains|Internet top-level domain name]] specific to the UK is [[.uk]], which is operated by [[Nominet]]. Four additional domains were introduced by [[ICANN]] for locations within the UK in 2014,: [[.cymru]] and [[.wales]] for [[Wales]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-09-30 |title=New .wales and .cymru domain web addresses go live |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-29418898 |access-date=2024-02-20 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[.scot]] for [[Scotland]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-09-23 |title=New internet domain .scot goes on general release |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-29326327 |access-date=2024-02-20 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> and [[.london]] for [[London]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hern |first=Alex |date=2013-11-15 |title=London to get its own domain name in 2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/15/london-domain-name-2014-businesses |access-date=2024-02-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The UK has been involved in the research and development of [[packet switching]], [[communication protocol]]s, and [[internetworking]] since their origins.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Campbell-Kelly |first=Martin |date=1987 |title=Data Communications at the National Physical Laboratory (1965-1975) |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4640566 |journal=Annals of the History of Computing |volume=9 |issue=3/4 |pages=221–247 |doi=10.1109/MAHC.1987.10023 |s2cid=8172150 |issn=0164-1239}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Ed |last2=Miller |first2=Chris |last3=Norton |first3=Jim |date=2017 |title=Packet Switching: The first steps on the road to the information society |url=https://www.npl.co.uk/getattachment/about-us/History/Famous-faces/Donald-Davies/UK-role-in-Packet-Switching-(1).pdf.aspx?lang=en-GB |access-date= |website=National Physical Laboratory}}</ref> The development of these technologies was international from the beginning.<ref>{{cite web |author1=by Vinton Cerf, as told to Bernard Aboba |date=1993 |title=How the Internet Came to Be |url=http://elk.informatik.hs-augsburg.de/tmp/cdrom-oss/CerfHowInternetCame2B.html |access-date=25 September 2017 |quote=We began doing concurrent implementations at Stanford, BBN, and University College London. So effort at developing the Internet protocols was international from the beginning. |archive-date=26 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926042220/http://elk.informatik.hs-augsburg.de/tmp/cdrom-oss/CerfHowInternetCame2B.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hauben |first1=Ronda |date=1 May 2004 |title=The Internet: On its International Origins and Collaborative Vision A Work In-Progress |url=http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120/other/misc/haubenpap.rtf |access-date=25 September 2017}}</ref> While the research and development that led to the [[Internet protocol suite]] (and the early infrastructure and governance of the Internet) was driven and funded by the United States,<ref>{{cite news |date=15 February 2016 |title=BT ad gets into a muddle about the internet's origins |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35579225 |access-date=25 September 2017}}</ref> it also involved and applied the work of British (and French) researchers. In particular, [[Donald Davies]] independently invented and pioneered packet switching and associated communication protocols at the [[National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom)|National Physical Laboratory]] starting in 1965;<ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Yates |first=David M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ToMfAQAAIAAJ&q=packet+switch |title=Turing's Legacy: A History of Computing at the National Physical Laboratory 1945-1995 |date=1997 |publisher=National Museum of Science and Industry |isbn=978-0-901805-94-2 |pages=132–4 |language=en |quote=Davies's invention of packet switching and design of computer communication networks ... were a cornerstone of the development which led to the Internet}}</ref> internetworking was pioneered by [[Peter T. Kirstein|Peter Kirstein]] at [[University College London]] beginning in 1973 (with new concepts for internetworking being pioneereddeveloped by [[Louis Pouzin]] in France, beginning around the same time).;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sri.com/newsroom/press-releases/computer-history-museum-sri-international-and-bbn-celebrate-40th-anniversary|title=The Computer History Museum, SRI International, and BBN Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of First ARPANET Transmission, Precursor to Today's Internet|date=27 October 2009|publisher=SRI International|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329134941/https://www.sri.com/newsroom/press-releases/computer-history-museum-sri-international-and-bbn-celebrate-40th-anniversary|archive-date=29 March 2019|access-date=25 September 2017|quote=But the ARPANET itself had now become an island, with no links to the other networks that had sprung up. By the early1970s, researchers in France, the UK, and the U.S. began developing ways of connecting networks to each other, a process known as internetworking.}}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":0">{{citeand web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jun/25/internet[[Tim Berners-pioneers-airbrushed-from-history|title=''InternetLee]] pioneersinvented airbrushedthe from[[World history''|last=Scantlebury|first=Roger|date=25Wide JuneWeb]] 2013|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 August 2015|postscript=none}}; {{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/letter/mg24532640-100-how-we-nearly-invented-the-internet-in-the-uk/|title=How we1989 nearlywhile inventedworking theat internet[[CERN]] in the UK {{!}} New Scientist|website=wwwSwitzerland.newscientist.com|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref>

After meeting with Licklider in 1965, Donald Davies conceived the idea of [[packet switching]] for data communications.<ref name="Roberts1978">{{cite web|url=http://www.packet.cc/files/ev-packet-sw.html|title=The Evolution of Packet Switching|last1=Roberts|first1=Dr. Lawrence G.|date=November 1978|access-date=5 September 2017|quote=Almost immediately after the 1965 meeting, Donald Davies conceived of the details of a store-and-forward packet switching system|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324033133/http://www.packet.cc/files/ev-packet-sw.html|archive-date=24 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Roberts1995">{{cite web|url=http://www.packet.cc/files/arpanet-computernet.html|title=The ARPANET & Computer Networks|last1=Roberts|first1=Dr. Lawrence G.|date=May 1995|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324032800/http://www.packet.cc/files/arpanet-computernet.html|archive-date=24 March 2016|access-date=13 April 2016}}</ref> He proposed a commercial national data network and developed plans to implement the concept in a local area network, the [[NPL network]], which operated from 1969 to 1986.<ref name=":72">{{Cite conference |last=Scantlebury |first=Roger |last2=Wilkinson |first2=Peter |last3=Barber |first3=Derek |date=2001 |title=NPL, Packet Switching and the Internet |url=http://www.topquark.co.uk/conf/IAP2001.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030807200346/http://www.topquark.co.uk/conf/IAP2001.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-08-07 |conference=Symposium of the Institution of Analysts & Programmers 2001 |access-date=2024-06-13 |quote=The system first went 'live' early in 1969 |website=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barber |first1=Derek |date=Spring 1993 |title=The Origins of Packet Switching |url=http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res05.htm#f |journal=The Bulletin of the Computer Conservation Society |issue=5 |issn=0958-7403 |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref> He and his team, including Derek Barber and [[Roger Scantlebury]], carried out work to analyse and simulate the performance of packet switching networks, including [[datagram]] networks.<ref name="Hempstead2005">{{cite book |author1=C. Hempstead |url=https://archive.org/details/EncyclopediaOf20thCenturyTechnologyAZMalestrom/page/n621/mode/2up?q=packet+switching |title=Encyclopedia of 20th-Century Technology |author2=W. Worthington |date=2005 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-45551-4 |pages=573–5}}</ref><ref name="Pelkey">{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.historyofcomputercommunications.info/Book/6/6.3-CYCLADESNetworkLouisPouzin1-72.html|title=Entrepreneurial Capitalism and Innovation: A History of Computer Communications 1968–1988|last=Pelkey|first=James|chapter=6.3 CYCLADES Network and Louis Pouzin 1971–1972|access-date=3 February 2020|archive-date=17 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617093154/https://www.historyofcomputercommunications.info/Book/6/6.3-CYCLADESNetworkLouisPouzin1-72.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Their research and practice was adopted by the [[ARPANET]] in the United States, the forerunner of the Internet, and influenced other researchers in the UK and Europe, including [[Louis Pouzin]], and Japan.<ref name="Gillies2000">{{cite book|last1=Gillies|first1=James|last2=Cailliau|first2=Robert|title=How the Web was Born: The Story of the World Wide Web|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-286207-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/howwebwasbornsto00gill/page/25 25]|url=https://archive.org/details/howwebwasbornsto00gill|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Isaacson2014">{{cite book|last1=Isaacson|first1=Walter|title=The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution|date=2014|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-4767-0869-0|page=237|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4V9koAEACAAJ&pg=PA237}}</ref><ref name="Hempstead2005frs2">{{citeCite bookjournal |author1last1=CNeedham |first1=R. HempsteadM. |urlauthor-link=https://archive.org/details/EncyclopediaOf20thCenturyTechnologyAZMalestrom/page/n621/mode/2up?qRoger Needham |year=packet+switching2002 |title=EncyclopediaDonald ofWatts 20th-CenturyDavies, Technology |author2=WC.B.E. Worthington7 |date=2005June 1924 – 28 May 2000 |publisherjournal=[[RoutledgeBiographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] |isbnvolume=978-1-135-45551-448 |pages=573–587–96 |doi=10.1098/rsbm.2002.0006 |s2cid=72835589 |quote=The 1967 Gatlinburg paper was influential on the development of ARPAnet, which might otherwise have been built with less extensible technology. ... In 1969 Davies was invited to Japan to lecture on packet switching. He gave what must have been a quite gruelling series of nine three-hour lectures, concluding with an intense discussion with around 80 people.}}</ref>

=== TCP/IP and theThe early Internet and TCP/IP ===

Donald Davies, Derek Barber and Roger Scantlebury joined the [[International NetworkingNetwork Working Group]] (INWG) in 1972 along with researchers from the United States and France.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vinton Cerf : How the Internet Came to Be|url=http://www.netvalley.com/archives/mirrors/cerf-how-inet.html|access-date=2021-12-21|website=www.netvalley.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Scantlebury |first=Roger |date=25 June 2013 |title=''Internet pioneers airbrushed from history'' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jun/25/internet-pioneers-airbrushed-from-history |access-date=1 August 2015 |work=The Guardian |postscript=none}}; {{Cite web |title=How we nearly invented the internet in the UK {{!}} New Scientist |url=https://www.newscientist.com/letter/mg24532640-100-how-we-nearly-invented-the-internet-in-the-uk/ |access-date=2020-02-07 |website=www.newscientist.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=McKenzie|first=Alexander|date=2011|title=INWG and the Conception of the Internet: An Eyewitness Account|journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing|volume=33|issue=1|pages=66–71|doi=10.1109/MAHC.2011.9|s2cid=206443072|issn=1934-1547}}</ref> [[Vint Cerf]] and [[Bob Kahn]] acknowledged Davies and Scantlebury in their seminal 1974 paper "''A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication''".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cerf|first1=V.|last2=Kahn|first2=R.|date=1974|title=A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication|url=https://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/fall06/cos561/papers/cerf74.pdf|journal=IEEE Transactions on Communications|volume=22|issue=5|pages=637–648|doi=10.1109/TCOM.1974.1092259|issn=1558-0857|quote=The authors wish to thank a number of colleagues for helpful comments during early discussions of international network protocols, especially R. Metcalfe, R. Scantlebury, D. Walden, and H. Zimmerman; D. Davies and L. Pouzin who constructively commented on the fragmentation and accounting issues; and S. Crocker who commented on the creation and destruction of associations.}}</ref>

The specification of the [[Transmission Control Program]] was developed in the U.S. in 1974 through research funded and led by [[DARPA]] and [[Stanford University]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1974 |title=Specification of Internet Transmission Control Program |url=https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc675/}}</ref> The following year, testing began with concurrent implementations at University College London, [[Stanford University]], and [[Bolt Beranek & Newman|BBN]].<ref name=":32">{{cite web|author1=by Vinton Cerf, as told to Bernard Aboba|date=1993|title=How the Internet Came to Be|url=http://elk.informatik.hs-augsburg.de/tmp/cdrom-oss/CerfHowInternetCame2B.html|access-date=25 September 2017|quote=We began doing concurrent implementations at Stanford, BBN, and University College London. So effort at developing the Internet protocols was international from the beginning. ... Mar '82 - Norway leaves the ARPANET and become an Internet connection via TCP/IP over SATNET. Nov '82 - UCL leaves the ARPANET and becomes an Internet connection.|archive-date=26 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926042220/http://elk.informatik.hs-augsburg.de/tmp/cdrom-oss/CerfHowInternetCame2B.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> UCL played a significant role in the very earliest experimental Internet work. [[Sylvia Wilbur]] programmed the computer used as the local [[Node (networking)|node]] for the network at UCL and was "probably one of the first people in this country ever to send an email, back in 1974".<ref name="abbate">{{citation|url=https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Silvia_Wilbur|title=Silvia Wilbur|work=IEEE History Center Interview #634|first=Janet|last=Abbate|authorlink=Janet Abbate|publisher=[[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]]|date=April 2001}}</ref> Kirstein co-authored with Vint Cerf one of the most significant early technical papers on the [[internetworking]] concept in 1978.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Cerf | first1 = V. G. | last2 = Kirstein | first2 = P. T. | doi = 10.1109/PROC.1978.11147 | title = Issues in packet-network interconnection | journal = Proceedings of the IEEE | volume = 66 | issue = 11 | pages = 1386 | year = 1978 | s2cid = 27658511 }}</ref> HisFurther researchwork groupwas done by researchers at UCLthe adopted[[Information Sciences Institute]] (ISI), at the [[TCP/IPUniversity of Southern California]].<ref name=":33">[http://mercury.lcs.mit.edu/~jnc/plaque.html "Stanford University 'Birth of the Internet' Plaque"], web page, J. Noel Chiappa, Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT</ref>{{efn|See also the ''Final Report of the Stanford University TCP project'', {{Cite IETF|ien=151}}, written by Cerf in November1980. 1982This was originally, aheadin TCP version 2 in 1977 (IEN5), to be entitled "Final Report of ARPANETthe Internetwork TCP Project" and to be written by Cerf [Stanford], Stephen Edge [UCL], Andrew Hinchley [UCL], Richard Karp [Stanford], [[Peter T. Kirstein]] [UCL], and played[[Paal aSpilling]] significant[NDRE]. roleThis title was carried over into version 3 (IEN21) and into the list of references in version 4 but the verypresent earliesttitle experimentalwas Internetadopted workin the preface (IEN55).|name=note1}} Kirstein's research group at UCL adopted [[TCP/IP]] in November 1982, ahead of ARPANET.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Olivier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTRYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT17 |title=The "Hidden" Prehistory of European Research Networking |date=2012 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=978-1-4669-3872-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTRYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT17}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |urlauthor=https://www.wired.com/Cade Metz |date=25 December 2012/12/queen-and-the-internet/ |title=How the Queen of England Beat Everyone to the Internet |authorurl=Cade Metz |magazine=Wired Magazine |date=25 December https://www.wired.com/2012 |access/12/queen-date=27 June 2014and-the-internet/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719055501/http://www.wired.com/2012/12/queen-and-the-internet/ |archive-date=19 July 2014 |access-date=27 June 2014 |magazine=Wired Magazine}}</ref>

title=Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace|author=Milton Mueller|page=79|publisher=MIT Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|year=2002|isbn=978-0-262-63298-0}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last1=EarnshawMansell |first1=RaeRobin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xy7LadoXUVYCVOciwO7I50AC&pg=PA46PA208 |title=DigitalInside Convergencethe -Communication LibrariesRevolution: Evolving Patterns of theSocial Futureand |last2=VinceTechnical |first2=JohnInteraction |date=2007-09-202002 |publisher=SpringerOxford ScienceUniversity & Business MediaPress |isbn=978-10-8462819-903829656-30 |pages=46208 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=MansellEarnshaw |first1=RobinRae |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOciwO7I50ACxy7LadoXUVYC&pg=PA208PA46 |title=InsideDigital theConvergence Communication- Revolution: Evolving PatternsLibraries of Socialthe and Technical InteractionFuture |last2=MansellVince |first2=Dixons Chair in New Media and the Internet Interdepartmental Programme in Media and Communications RobinJohn |date=20022007-09-20 |publisher=OxfordSpringer UniversityScience Press& Business Media |isbn=978-01-1984628-829656903-03 |pages=20846 |language=en}}</ref> He later passed it to Dr Willie Black at the UK Education and Research Networking Association (UK ERNA). Black managed the "Naming Committee" until he and John Carey formed [[Nominet UK]] in 1996.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Mansell|first1=Robin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOciwO7I50AC&pg=PA206|title=Inside the Communication Revolution: Evolving Patterns of Social and Technical Interaction|last2=Mansell|first2=Dixons Chair in New Media and the Internet Interdepartmental Programme in Media and Communications Robin|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-829656-0|language=en}}</ref> As one of the first professional ccTLD operators, it became the model for many other operators worldwide.

Over the period 1980 to 2000, BT and other providers adopted TCP/IP and Internet product strategies when it became commercially advantageous.<ref>{{Cite journal |lastlast1=Smith |firstfirst1=Edward |last2=Miller |first2=Chris |last3=Norton |first3=Jim |date=2023 |title=Evolving and Exploiting Packet Switched Networks |url=https://www.ssrn.com/abstract=4595785 |journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |language=en |doi=10.2139/ssrn.4595785 |issn=1556-5068}}</ref>

=== Other protocolscomputer networks and networkstheir protocols ===

During the 1970s, the NPL team researched [[internetworking]] on the [[European Informatics Network]] (EIN). Based on [[datagram]]s, the network linked [[European Atomic Energy Community|Euratom]], the French research centre [[INRIA]] and the UK’s [[National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom)|National Physical Laboratory]] in 1976.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Abbate|first=Janet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2BdY6WQo4AC&pg=PA125|title=Inventing the Internet|date=2000|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-51115-5|pages=125|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hardy|first1=Daniel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRhHPINWo2AC&pg=PT526|title=Networks: Internet, Telephony, Multimedia: Convergences and Complementarities|last2=Malleus|first2=Guy|date=2002|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-540-00559-9|pages=505|language=en}}</ref> The transport protocol of the EIN was the basis of the onehelped adoptedto bylaunch the [[International NetworkingNetwork Working Group|INWG]] and [[X.25]] protocols.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Donald Watts |url=https://archive.org/details/computernetworks00davi|url-access=registration |title=Computer networks and their protocols |date=1979 |publisher=Chichester,John [Eng.]Wiley ;& New York :Sons Wiley|othersisbn=Internet9780471997504 Archive|pages=[https://archive.org/details/computernetworks00davi/page/464 464] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hardy |first1=Daniel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRhHPINWo2AC&pg=PT526 |title=Networks: Internet, Telephony, Multimedia: Convergences and Complementarities |last2=Malleus |first2=Guy |date=2002 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9780471997504978-3-540-00559-9 |pages=505 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Derek Barber |title=The Origins of Packet Switching |url=http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res05.htm#f |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=Computer Resurrection Issue 5 |quote=I actually set up the first meeting between John Wedlake of the British Post Office and [Rémi Després] of the French PTT which led to X25. There was a problem about virtual calls in EIN, so I called this meeting and that actually did in the end lead to X25.}}</ref>

Building on the work of [[James H. Ellis]] in the late 1960s, [[Clifford Cocks]] and [[Malcolm J. Williamson|Malcolm Williamson]] invented a [[public-key cryptography]] algorithm in 1973.<ref name="zdnet">{{cite web |last=Espiner |first=Tom |date=26 October 2010 |title=GCHQ pioneers on birth of public key crypto |url=httphttps://www.zdnet.com/article/gchq-pioneers-on-birth-of-public-key-crypto/ |website=www.zdnet.com[[ZDNet]]}}</ref> An equivalent algorithm was later independently invented in 1977 in the United States by [[Ron Rivest]], [[Adi Shamir]] and [[Leonard Adleman]]. The [[RSA (algorithm)|RSA algorithm]] became central to security on the Internet.<ref>{{Cite web|title=British Document Outlines Early Encryption Discovery|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/122497encrypt.html|access-date=2021-05-12|website=archive.nytimes.com|quote=The set of algorithms, equations and arcane mathematics that make up public key cryptography are a crucial technology for preserving computer privacy in and making commerce possible on the Internet. Some hail its discovery as one of the most important accomplishments of 20th-century mathematics because it allows two people to set up a secure phone call without meeting beforehand. Without it, there would be no privacy in cyberspace.}}</ref>

[[Post Office Telecommunications]] developed an experimental public packet switching network, [[Packet switching#EPSS|EPSS]], in the 1970s.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Ed |last2=Miller |first2=Chris |last3=Norton |first3=Jim |title=Packet Switching: The first steps on the road to the information society |url=https://www.npl.co.uk/getattachment/about-us/History/Famous-faces/Donald-Davies/UK-role-in-Packet-Switching-(1).pdf.aspx }}</ref> This was one of the first [[public data network]]s in the world when it began operating in 19771976.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DN-t8MpZ0-wC&pg=PA2|title=A history of international research networking: the people who made it happen|date=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-3-527-32710-2|editor1-last=Davies|editor1-first=Howard|pages=2–3|editor2-last=Bressan|editor2-first=Beatrice}}</ref> EPSS was replaced with the [[Packet Switch Stream]] (PSS) in 1980.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Davies|editor1-first=Howard|editor2-last=Bressan|editor2-first=Beatrice|title=A history of international research networking: the people who made it happen|date=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-3-527-32710-2|page=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DN-t8MpZ0-wC&pg=PA2}}</ref> PSS connected to the [[International Packet Switched Service]] (IPSS), which was created in 1978 through a collaboration between Post Office Telecommunications and two US telecoms companies. IPSS provided worldwide networking infrastructure.

Peter Collinson brought [[Unix]] to the [[University of Kent]] (UKC/UKnet) in 1976 and set up a [[UUCP]] test service to Bell Labs in the U.S. in 1979. The first UUCP emails from the U.S. arrived in the UK later that year and email to Europe (the Netherlands and Denmark) started in 1980, becoming a regular service via [[EUnet]] in 1982.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |last=Houlder |first=Peter |date=19 January 2007 |title=Starting the Commercial Internet in the UK |url=https://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof6/Houlder-History.pdf |access-date=2020-02-12 |website=6th UK Network Operators' Forum |archive-date=13 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213100236/https://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof6/Houlder-History.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> UKC provided the first connections to non-academic users in the early 1980s.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Jim |date=3 April 2007 |title=Networking in UK Academia ~25 Years Ago |url=https://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof7/Reid-History.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170507114646/https://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof7/Reid-History.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 May 2017 |access-date=2020-02-12 |website=7th UK Network Operators' Forum }}</ref> Several companies established electronic mail services in Britain during the 1970s and early 1980s, enabling subscribers to send email either internally within a company network or over telephone connections or data networks such as [[Packet Switch Stream]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JMLisXAYl5kC&pg=RA1-PA61|title=New Scientist|date=1985-10-17|publisher=Reed Business Information|pages=61–4|language=en}}</ref>

[[BTBritish Group|BTTelecom]] (British Telecommunications plc) began using the WWW in 1991 during a collaborative project called the Oracle Alliance Program. It was founded in 1990 by [[Oracle Corporation]], based in California, to provide information for its corporate partners and about those partners. BT became involved in May 1991. [[File sharing]] was required as part of the program and, initially, floppy disks were sent through the post. Then in July 1991 access to the Internet was implemented by BT network engineers using the BT packet switching network. A link was established from [[Ipswich]] to London for access to the [[Internet backbone]]. The first file transfers made via a [[NeXT]]-based WWW interface were completed in October 1991.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lloyd|first1=Peter|last2=Boyle|first2=Paula|title=Web-weaving: Intranets, Extranets and Strategic Alliances|date=1998|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-7506-3866-4|pages=201–8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viECfpx1A4gC&q=oracle%20alliance%20program%201990&pg=PA202}}</ref><ref>BT network engineer Clive Salmon established access to the Internet for the project leader, Richard Moulding of BT, in July 1991.</ref>

=== Dial-up Internet access ===

[[Pipex]] was established in 1990 and began providing [[dial-up Internet access]] in March 1992, the UK's first commercial [[Internet service provider]] (ISP).<ref name="How the UK got connected">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/connecting-britain/timeline-how-uk-got-connected/|title=How the UK got connected|date=2016-10-27|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2019-09-17|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gtnet.gov.uk/corporate/about/ |title=About PIPEX |publisher=GTNet |access-date=2012-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101022035/http://www.gtnet.gov.uk/corporate/about/ |archive-date=2012-11-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> By November 1993 Pipex provided Internet service to 150 customer sites.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://foldoc.org/UUNET+PIPEX|title=UUNET PIPEX from FOLDOC|website=foldoc.org|access-date=2019-02-11}}</ref> One of its first customers that year was [[Demon Internet]], which popularised dial up [[modem]]|modem-based]] internet access in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/01/11/vodafone_to_shutter_demon_internet/|title=Begone, Demon Internet: Vodafone to shutter old-school pioneer ISP|first=Andrew|last=Orlowski|date=11 January 2019|website=[[theregister.co.uk]]|language=en|access-date=2019-02-11}}</ref> OtherBy commercialNovember 1993, Pipex provided [[Internet service providerto 150 customer sites.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UUNET PIPEX from FOLDOC |url=http://foldoc.org/UUNET+PIPEX |access-date=2019-02-11 |website=foldoc.org}}</ref> [[EUnet|EUnet GB]]s, was founded as a commercial ISP in 1993 by a group of academics.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":22" /> Other ISPs and web-hosting companies, aimed at businesses and individuals, [[List of United Kingdom ISPs by age|developed in the 1990s]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bonsignore|first=Tony|date=2019-02-11|title=I stole £30,000 from my mum to make millions|language=en-GB|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47156317|access-date=2019-02-11|quote=web-hosting companies in the UK at the time were pitched at much bigger companies, ... small businesses and individuals wanted something self-service and easy to use ... Fasthosts was a classic example of the bedroom computer innovation that the UK was so good at in the 80s and 90s.... it also simplified the process of registering domain names and accessing web hosting}}</ref> ByIn May 1998, Demon Internet had 180,000 subscribers.<ref>{{Cite book|urlname=https"://books.google.com/books?id=VOciwO7I50AC&pg=PA208|title=Inside7" the Communication Revolution: Evolving Patterns of Social and Technical Interaction|last=Mansell|first=Robin|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-829656-0|language=en}}</ref>

More than half of UK homes had broadband in 2007, with an average connection speed of 4.6 &nbsp;Mbit/s. Bundled communications deals mixing broadband, [[digital TV]], [[mobile phone]] and [[landline phone]] access were adopted by forty per cent of UK households in the same year, up by a third over the previous year. This high level of service is considered the main driver for the recent growth in online advertising and retail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/1859144/more-half-uk-homes-broadband |title=More than half of UK homes have broadband – 22 Aug 2007 – Computing News |date=22 August 2007 |publisher=Computing.co.uk |access-date=2012-09-20}}</ref>

[[Cable Internet access]] uses [[coaxial cable]]s or [[optical fibre]] cables. The main cable service provider in the UK is [[Virgin Media]] and the current{{When|date=April 2024}} maximum speed available to their customers is 1.1Gb1&nbsp;Gbit/sec (subject to change)s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.virginmedia.com/shop/broadband/gig1-gigabit-broadband |title=Virgin Media Broadband Only Deals |publisher=Virgin Media |access-date=2017-06-09}}</ref>

{{More citations needed |section|date=June 2017}}

Whilst Virgin Media is the nearest direct competitor, their quad play product is available to fewer homes given the fixed nature of their cable infrastructure. [[TalkTalk Group|TalkTalk]] is the next DSL-based ISP with a mature quad play product portfolio ([[EE (telecommunications company)|EE]]'s being the merger of the [[Orange (UK)|Orange]] and [[T-Mobile UK|T-Mobile]] service providers, and focusing their promotion on forthcoming fibre broadband and [[LTE (telecommunication)|4G LTE]] products).

In 2005, another company, [[Be Un Limited|Be]], started offering speeds of up to 24&nbsp;Mbit/s downstream and 2.5&nbsp;Mbit/sec upstream using [[ITU G.992.5|ADSL2+]] with [[ITU G.992.5 Annex M|Annex M]], eventually from over 1,250 UK exchanges. Be were taken over by O2's parent company [[Telefónica Europe|Telefónica]] in 2007. On 1 March 2013 O2 Telefónica sold Be to Sky, who have nowwhich migrated O2 and Be customers onto the somewhat slower Sky network.

[[TalkTalk Group|TalkTalk]] offered customers ‘free’'free' broadband if they had a telephone package. [[Orange (UK)|Orange]] responded by offering ‘free’'free' broadband for some mobile customers. Many smaller ISPs now offer similar packages. [[Telefónica Europe|O2]] also entered the broadband market by taking over LLU provider [[Be Un Limited|Be]], while Sky ([[BSkyB]]) had already taken over LLU broadband provider [[Easynet]]. In July 2006, Sky announced 2 &nbsp;Mbit/s broadband to be available free to Sky TV customers and a higher speed connection at a lower price than most rivals.<ref>{{cite news |date=2006-04-09 |title=Phone firm 'plans free broadband' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4893194.stm |access-date=2010-05-05 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

Up until the launch of "Max" services, the only ADSL packages available via BT Wholesale were known as [[IPstream]] Home 250, Home 500, Home 1000 and Home 2000 ([[contention ratio]] of 50:1); and Office 500, Office 1000, and Office 2000 (contention ratio of 20:1). The number in the product name indicates the downstream data rate in [[kilobit per second|kilobits per second]]. The upstream data rate is up to 250 &nbsp;[[kilobit|kbit]]/s for all products.<ref>{{efn|reference=1 kbit = 1000 [[bit]]</ref>}}

In September 2004, BT Wholesale removed the line-length/loss limits for 500 &nbsp;kbit/s ADSL, instead employing a tactic of "[[suck it and see]]" — enabling the line, then seeing if ADSL would work on it. This sometimes includes the installation of a filtered faceplate on the customer's master socket, so as to eliminate poor quality telephone extension cables inside the customer's premises which can be a source of high frequency noise.

In the past, the majority of home users used packages with 500 &nbsp;kbit/s (downstream) and 250 &nbsp;kbit/s (upstream) with a 50:1 contention ratio. However, BT Wholesale introduced the option of a new charging structure to ISPs which means that the wholesale service cost was the same regardless of the ADSL data rate, with charges instead being based on the amount of data transferred. Nowadays, most home users use a package whose data rate is only limited by the technical limitations of their telephone line. Initially this was 2&nbsp;[[megabit|Mbit]]/s downstream. Until the advent of widespread FTTC, most home products were first [[ADSL Max]]-based (up to 7.15&nbsp;Mbit/s), using ADSL [[G.992.1]] and then later [[ADSL2+]] (up to 21&nbsp;Mbit/s).

In 2015, BT unveiled universal 5-10 mbitto 10&nbsp;Mbit/s broadband and the rollout of 500 &nbsp;Mbit/s [[G.fast|G.Fast]]. The aim was to push "ultra-fast speeds" of 300-500 to 500&nbsp;Mbit/s to 10 million homes using the existing [[Landline|landline cables]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 September 2015 |title=UPDATE3 BT Unveil Universal 5-10Mb Broadband and 500Mb G.fast Rollout - ISPreview UK |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2015/09/bt-sets-plan-for-universal-5-10mbps-uk-broadband-and-500mbps-g-fast-rollout.html |access-date=2020-05-03 |website=www.ispreview.co.uk}}</ref> Openreach made the decision to pause the rollout of G.Fast in 2019, as a result of their decision to focus on FTTP.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 September 2019 |title=Openreach Put the Brakes on Future UK G.fast Broadband Plans - ISPreview UK |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/09/openreach-put-the-brakes-on-future-uk-g-fast-broadband-plans.html |access-date=2020-05-03 |website=www.ispreview.co.uk}}</ref>

==== Fibre to the PropertyFTTP ====

In March 2011, Openreach began the development of an [[Fiber to the premises|FTTP]] network in [[Milton Keynes]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fiveash |first=Kelly |title=BT fibre-to-the-premises trial takes 7 hours per install |url=https://www.theregister.com/2011/03/03/bt_milton_keynes_fibre_to_the_premises_trial/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=www.theregister.com |language=en}}</ref> As a result, BT began offering eligible customers packages with download speeds of up to 100 &nbsp;Mbit/s.<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-06-18 |title=BT rolls out 100 Mbit/s broadband in Milton Keynes |url=http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=3263334 |access-date=2012-06-30 |publisher=PC Advisor}}</ref>

In October 2011, British operator [[Hyperoptic]] launched a 1 &nbsp;Gbit/s FTTH service in London.<ref>{{cite web |title=1Gbit/sec broadband lands in London &#124; Broadband &#124; News |url=http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/broadband/370603/1gbit-sec-broadband-lands-in-london |access-date=2012-06-30 |publisher=PC Pro}}</ref>

In October 2012, British operator Gigler UK launched a 1 &nbsp;Gbit/s down and 500Mbit500&nbsp;Mbit/secs up FTTH service in Bournemouth using the CityFibre network.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gigler launches Gigabit fibre service in Bournemouth &#124; thinkbroadband |url=http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/5480-gigler-launches-gigabit-fibre-service-in-bournemouth.html}}</ref>

Virgin Media stated that 13 million UK homes are covered by their optical fibre broadband network, and that by the end of 2012 would be able to offer 100 &nbsp;Mbit/s broadband. There are currently over 100 towns in the UK that have access to this service.<ref>{{cite news

During the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 General Election]], [[Boris Johnson]] pledged full fibre for all of the UK by 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/06/boris-johnson-pledges-full-fibre-for-all-uk-by-2025-doesnt-say-how.html|title=Boris Johnson Pledges Full Fibre for All UK by 2025 - Doesn't Say How UPDATE - ISPreview UK|website=www.ispreview.co.uk|date=17 June 2019 |access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> This was later rolled back to "gigabit-capable" broadband.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kelion|first=Leo|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50042720|title=Ministers dodge 'full fibre for all by 2025' pledge|date=2019-10-14|work=BBC News|access-date=2020-04-07|language=en-GB}}</ref> This means that mixed technologies are allowed, for example [[Virgin Media]] can continue to use their cable infrastructure since the [[DOCSIS|DOCSIS 3.1]] is "gigabit-capable" and other ISPs can also sell [[5G]] broadband. [[Vorboss]] initiated the construction of a full-fibre network in London's business district in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Padoan |first=Harry |date=2023-11-21 |title=London's Vorboss breaks B2B fibre price-performance barrier for retailers |url=https://www.telcotitans.com/infrawatch/londons-vorboss-breaks-b2b-fibre-price-performance-barrier-for-retailers/7460.article |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=TelcoTitans.com |language=en}}</ref> The company deployed 500 km of 800 fiber optic cables<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Mark |date=2023-09-12 |title=UK ISP Vorboss Discount 10Gbps Price for Small London Businesses |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/09/uk-isp-vorboss-discount-10gbps-price-for-small-london-businesses.html |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=ISPreview UK |language=en}}</ref> in London with 10 to 100&nbsp;Gbit/s speeds connected directly to premises ([[Fiber to the x|FTTP]]) without a copper-and-cabinet middleman.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maistre |first=Ray Le |date=2022-09-08 |title=FTTP altnet targets London's business broadband market with £250m plan |url=https://www.telecomtv.com/content/access-evolution/fttp-altnet-targets-london-s-business-broadband-market-with-250m-plan-45361/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=TelecomTV |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sawers |first=Paul |date=2022-09-09 |title=Vorboss brings minimum 10 Gbps enterprise fibre network to London businesses |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/09/vorboss-brings-minimum-10-gbps-enterprise-fibre-network-to-london-businesses/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref>

In January 2020, [[Openreach]] announced that they will deploy FTTP technology in 200 rural locations by March 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.openreach.com/news-and-opinion/articles/rural-communities-joining-the-race-for-better-broadband|title=Rural communities joining the race for better broadband|website=www.openreach.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> Two months later, in March, the UK government set the Universal[[universal Serviceservice Obligationobligation]] to 10 &nbsp;Mbit/s Download and 1 &nbsp;Mbit/s Upload.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/03/10mbps-uk-broadband-universal-service-obligation-to-go-live.html|title=10Mbps UK Broadband Universal Service Obligation to Go Live UPDATE3 - ISPreview UK|website=www.ispreview.co.uk|date=19 March 2020 |access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> The following month, Rural ISP [[Broadband for the Rural North|B4RN]] launched their 10 &nbsp;Gbit/s symmetrical home broadband.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rural UK FTTH ISP B4RN Launches 10Gbps Home Broadband - ISPreview UK|url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/04/rural-ftth-isp-b4rn-start-offering-10gbps-home-broadband.html|website=www.ispreview.co.uk|date=29 April 2020 |access-date=2020-05-02}}</ref>

On the 1st of1 September 2023 alternative network ISP YouFibre, as part of their rebrand to 'You', released an 8000 Mbit8&nbsp;Gbit/s residential service being delivered over [[XGSPON]]: the first service of that speed over XGSPON in the UK and the first service of >3000 Mbit/s to be released at under £100 per month.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Broadband ISP YouFibre Launch 8Gbps UK Home Fibre Package |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/09/broadband-isp-youfibre-launch-8gbps-uk-home-fibre-package.html|date=2020-09-01|access-date=2023-09-11|website=www.ispreview.co.uk}}</ref>

[[4G]] internet replaced the old [[3G]] technology and allowed download speeds up to 300Mbit300&nbsp;Mbit/s.

[[5G]] was first deployed in the UK in May 2019 by [[EE (telecommunications company)|EE]],<ref name="EE 5G">{{cite web |title=EE launching UK's first 5G service in six cities, bringing a new era in faster, more reliable connectivity |url=https://newsroom.ee.co.uk/ee-launching-uks-first-5g-service-in-six-cities-bringing-a-new-era-in-faster-more-reliable-connectivity/ |publisher=EE |access-date=19 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> followed by [[Three UK|Three]] and [[Vodafone UK|Vodafone]] in August 2019,<ref name="RCR">{{cite web |last1=Tomás |first1=Juan Pedro |title=Three 5G network reaches 60% of UK population |url=https://www.rcrwireless.com/20230317/5g/three-5g-network-reaches-60-uk-population |website=RCR Wireless News |access-date=19 July 2023 |date=17 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="Vodafone 5G">{{cite web |title=One year on from 5G launch, Vodafone first to showcase next phase of 5G technology |url=https://www.vodafone.co.uk/newscentre/press-release/one-year-on-from-5g-launch-vodafone-first-to-showcase-next-phase-of-5g-technology/ |publisher=Vodafone |access-date=19 July 2023 |date=3 July 2020}}</ref> and finally [[O2 (United Kingdom)|O2]] in October 2019.<ref name="O2 5G">{{cite news |title=O2 launches 5G network in five UK cities and Slough |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-50068422 |access-date=19 July 2023 |work=BBC News |date=17 October 2019}}</ref>

Since 2003, BT has been introducing [[Symmetric digital subscriber line|SDSL]] to exchanges in many of the major cities. Services are currently offered at upload/download speeds of 256 &nbsp;kbit/s, 512 &nbsp;kbit/s, 1 &nbsp;Mbit/s or 2 &nbsp;Mbit/s. Unlike ADSL, which is typically 256 &nbsp;kbit/s upload, SDSL upload speeds are the same as the download speed. BT usually provide a new copper pair for SDSL installs, which can be used only for the SDSL connection. At a few hundred pounds a quarter, SDSL is significantly more expensive than ADSL, but is significantly cheaper than a leased line. SDSL is marketed to businesses and offers low contention ratios, and in some cases, a service level agreement. At present, the BT Wholesale SDSL enablement programme has stalled, most probably due to a lack of uptake.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

On 9 April 2003, the [[Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)|Advertising Standards Authority]] ruled against ISP ''[[NTL Incorporated|NTL]]'', saying that NTL's 128 &nbsp;kbit/s cable modem service must not be marketed as "broadband". [[Ofcom]] reported in June 2005 that there were more broadband than dial-up connections for the first time in history.<ref>{{cite news |date=2005-07-13 |title=UK 'embraces digital technology' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4679023.stm |access-date=2010-05-05 |work=BBC News}}</ref> In a similar way, on 13 August 2004, [[Wanadoo]] (formerly Freeserve, and part of what is now [[EE (telecommunications company)|EE]]), was told by ASA to change the way that they advertised their 512 &nbsp;kbit/s broadband service, requiring the company to remove the words "full speed". Rival companies claimed the phrase were misleading people into thinking it was the fastest service available.

With the merger of [[NTL Incorporated|NTL]] and [[Telewest]] in March 2006, the resulting NTL:Telewest company created the largest market share of broadband users in the UK. It also brought increases in bandwidth allocations for cable customers, with minimum speeds increasing from the industry norm of 512 kbit&nbsp;Kbit/s to 2 &nbsp;Mbit/s, whilst the company planned to have all domestic customers upgraded to at least 4&nbsp;Mbit/s downstream and ranging up to 10&nbsp;Mbit/s and beyond later in the year. In addition to this, it increased the supply of integrated services such as Digital TV and Phone packages.

Still in the year 2015 it was common in highly developed areas like the London Aldgate region for consumers to be limited to speeds of up to 8 &nbsp;Mbit/s for ADSL services.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bhanot |first1=Varun |date=17 March 2016 |title=Where is the best broadband for your London workspace? |url=https://hubblehq.com/blog/where-is-the-best-broadband-for-your-london-workspace |website=hubblehq.com |language=en}}</ref> This had a major effect in the London rental market as limited broadband service can affect the readiness of prospective tenants to sign a rental lease.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 2014 |title=Imperial study suggests that internet speed has an impact on property prices |url=http://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/154966/imperial-study-suggests-that-internet-speed/ |access-date=17 October 2018 |website=Imperial News |publisher=[[Imperial College London]]}}</ref>

=== 2020-present:2020s ===

In March 2020, the UK government set the Universal Service Obligation (USO) to 10 &nbsp;Mbit/s download and 1 &nbsp;Mbit/s upload.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 March 2020 |title=10Mbps UK Broadband Universal Service Obligation to Go Live UPDATE3 - ISPreview UK |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/03/10mbps-uk-broadband-universal-service-obligation-to-go-live.html |access-date=2020-05-03 |website=www.ispreview.co.uk}}</ref> As of May that year, 96.9% of UK households could receive "[[Fiber to the x|superfast broadband]]" (defined as 30 &nbsp;Mbit/s) whilst 19.29% of households could receive "ultrafast broadband" (defined as 300 &nbsp;Mbit/s) via [[Fiber to the x|FTTP]] or [[DOCSIS]] 3.1. 1.07% of households had broadband slower than the USO.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Check UK Broadband Performance and Coverage Statistics |url=https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/uk |access-date=2020-04-07 |website=labs.thinkbroadband.com |language=en}}</ref>

In September, the UK dropped 13 places in the 2020 Worldwide Broadband Speed League, making it amongst the slowest in Europe with an average download speed of 37.82 &nbsp;Mbit/s. Cable.co.uk blamed this on Openreach, with the network provider having focused on the development of an [[Fiber to the x|FTTC]] network,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Worldwide Broadband Speed League 2020 {{!}} Cable.co.uk |url=https://www.cable.co.uk/broadband/speed/worldwide-speed-league/ |access-date=2020-09-21 |website=Cable |language=en}}</ref> and been slow to begin the deployment of FTTP technologies. The deployment of FTTC/VDSL technologies was largely driven by the lack of political appetite and funding for FTTP at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Mark |date=2019-09-23 |title=One of the Last - 5000th FTTC Broadband Cabinet Built in Scotland |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2019/09/one-of-the-last-5000th-fttc-broadband-cabinet-built-in-scotland.html |access-date=2020-09-21 |website=ISPreview UK |language=en}}</ref>

In 2022, the UK's average download speed of 72 &nbsp;Mbit/s ranked it only faster than Italy in the G7 league of industrial nations for broadband speeds. According to a report by the Worldwide Broadband Speed League, a global leader in internet testing and analysis, the UK had risen to 35th place, having been ranked in 43rd position the year before.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karabus |first=Jude |title=G7 countries beat UK in global broadband speed test again |url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/06/broadband_speed_global_rankings/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=www.theregister.com |language=en}}</ref>