Campaign Check will look at politicians' claims over the election period

Labour say they will deliver "the fastest broadband free to everyone" by 2030. Can they - and at what cost?

There have been lots of numbers flying around.

Labour say the plan will cost £20bn to roll-out, whereas the Conservatives put it at £40bn.

BT itself claims the cost will be £30bn-£40bn.

But one of the most authoritative recent estimates comes from the National Infrastructure Commission, which says it will cost just over £33bn.


Why is Labour’s number so different?

The National Infrastructure Commission breaks the cost into two: £26.5bn for building and connection and £6.9bn for operational costs.

Although it’s not mentioned in the headline figure, Labour actually have that second point covered, at least in its costings.

They’ve allowed for maintenance costs of £230m a year, which they say will be covered by new taxes on tech giants like Google and Amazon.

Add that together over 30 years and you get an operational budget of £6.9bn, the same as the National Infrastructure Commission - although it’s worth pointing out that some experts believe this estimate is very conservative.

Even with the addition of the funds raised by the tech tax, however, there's still a gap, which raises a crucial point.

The National Infrastructure Commission assumed there would be a competitive market like the one we have currently, and although it may create lower prices, competition also creates costs.

Rival providers lay fibre down the same street and fight for the same customers, duplicating each others' resources and effort.

That's why a review commissioned by the government in 2018 predicted that a national monopoly, like the one Labour is proposing, could save £6.2bn from the cost of rolling out fibre broadband.

Take that away from the National Infrastructure Commission's £26.5bn estimate and you get a cost of a little over £20bn, just as Labour says.

Opponents will point out that there could be hidden costs like legal fees, if BT and other providers decide to sue the government.

There's also an argument about whether you should count the cost of buying private companies - unlike Labour, the Tories do, which is partly how they get to £83bn.

And when it comes to practical implementation, the example of countries such as Australia show how easily this kind of plan can go wrong.

But on the question of price tags, Labour's figure of £20bn is in line with the best available estimates.

Campaign Check scrutinises election claims made by political parties, examining if they are true or false, and the context. Sky News is working with Full Fact - the leading independent fact-checking charity.

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