Around 131,000 homes and businesses in rural and hard-to-reach areas will be able to access faster broadband speeds, which will help break down barriers to opportunity and kickstart economic growth as part of the government’s Plan for Change. This will allow for better access to virtual services, such as healthcare at home, and allowing businesses to serve their customers online.
The initiative, named Project Gigabit, aims to deliver £289 million of investment to isolated communities, such as the Dee Valley, Isle of Anglesey, and Shropshire, and has been signed by the UK government and Openreach. Other areas set to benefit include North and Southwest Wales, Herefordshire, Devon, Somerset, Essex, North East England, and Worcestershire.
Gigabit-capable broadband will deliver to households faster internet speeds with fewer dropouts, which is key for remote working and online education. Unlike traditional copper-based networks, gigabit connections won’t slow down at peak times, and can easily handle over a hundreds devices at once with no buffering.
As part of the government’s Plan For Change which aims to prioritise economic growth, Project Gigabit will deliver the fastest, most reliable broadband networks on the market to hundreds of rural towns and villages, helping narrow the digital divide over 1.1 million hard-to-reach premises. Now, over 85 per cent of the country cannot access gigabit connections, meaning in the UK is in a prime place to reach full gigabit coverage by 2030. This figure is only set to rise as the project is further rolled out.
Dozens of Project Gigabit contracts representing more than £2.2 billion investment have been signed with over ten different suppliers to deliver upgrades to broadband speeds, including contracts with smaller, independent broadband providers.
Technology secretary Peter Kyle said: “We are determined to deliver the infrastructure this country needs to thrive, and I am t thrilled to see so many homes and businesses in all areas of the country getting access to the fastest broadband speeds on the market through Project Gigabit.
“With today’s £289 million investment, we re not only boosting connectivity, but making it easier to access remote healthcare, online education, shopping online, work, learn, shop, and stay in touch with loved ones online.
“As part of the government’s Plan for Change, we will plug digital divides, helping to make the UK a more equal society where everyone is given a fair shot in life.”
Openreach CEO Clive Kelley, said: “Our new Full Fibre broadband network now reaches more than half of all properties in the UK, and we’re confident we can reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade, assuming the right regulatory and investment conditions exist. This is a British infrastructure success story which experts say will boost productivity by £73 billion and bring a raft of social and environmental benefits for the country. We believe that everyone deserves access to fast and reliable broadband, and we’re proud that this partnership will help extend our ultrafast, ultra-reliable network to areas that would otherwise by left behind by the private sector.”