A future Labour government will nationalise BT's Openreach operations to provide free full-fibre broadband to every home in the country, the party has announced.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the plan would transform the economy and bring communities together in an 'inclusive and connected society'.
Speaking in Lancaster as the general election campaign got under way, Mr Corbyn said there would be a massive upgrade in the UK’s internet infrastructure, delivering fast, secure, reliable internet connections for everyone and putting an end to patchy and slow coverage.
It would begin with communities with the worst broadband access including rural and remote villages and some inner city areas, followed by towns and smaller centres and then currently well-served areas.
The plan for a new British Broadband publicly-owned company would save people £30.30 a month on average and would be paid for through Labour’s green transformation fund and by taxing multinational corporations such as Amazon, Facebook and Google.
BT’s shares fell nearly 4% in early trading this morning but later recovered to trade slightly higher.
Mr Corbyn said: 'British Broadband will be our treasured public institution for the 21st century, delivering fast and free broadband to every home.'
