[United Kingdom] As millions of children remote learning suffer bad connections, internet providers have to offer free data

According to available information, between 1.14 million and 1.78 million children in the UK do not have access to a laptop, desktop, or tablet at home, and that more than 880,000 children live in a household that only has a mobile internet connection and even around 190,000 properties cannot access to a "decent" broadband connection.

Despite some technology providers in the UK (Telecoms giant BT, Vodafone, and Virgin Media) offering disadvantaged pupils a reliable and affordable internet connection by offering a 20GB free data per month scheme and distributing 330,000 SIM cards to primary and secondary schools, the problem remains.

To address this problem and support families who need access to connectivity to support their children's learning needs during the pandemic, experts (Elaine Carey, Chief Commercial Officer, at Three UK in a statement; Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader; Mary Bousted, general secretary of National Education Union; Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England) called on Prime Minister, in particular, to press network providers to make data more affordable and to provide pupils with laptops and access to sufficient technology.