Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said: "We know how important broadband is to homes and businesses and we want everyone to benefit from a fast and reliable connection. We are grateful to BT for their proposal but have decided that only a regulatory approach will make high speed broadband a reality for everyone in the UK, regardless of where they live or work."

The government will now begin setting out what the Universal Service Obligation (USO) must include. It's expected that legislation will be passed in early 2018 and that it will take roughly two years to formally introduce the minimum expected speeds previously laid out by Ofcom.

While it's certainly a blow for BT, the government is confident it's made the correct decision. It believes that by introducing legislation, minimum speeds can be increased as consumers' requirements evolve and that no household will be left behind (subject to a cost threshold).

The good news is that fixed line "superfast broadband" connections -- which provide speeds of 24 Mbps or more -- currently cover an estimated 95 percent of UK homes and businesses. Thanks to the Government's subsidised Broadband Delivery UK programme, that figure could reach 98 percent by 2020. It means that by the time the USO is enforced, only a small percentage of UK premises will fall into the gap.