UK government accelerates gigabit broadband scheme for rural villages, towns

Following the UK’s leading broadband provider Openreach revealing that it had extended gigabit connectivity access to an additional 4.2 million premises in 2024, bringing its total to 17 million, which is over half the businesses and home in the country, the UK government has announced the next part of the Project Gigabit scheme, which will see around 131,000 premises gain access to faster broadband speeds.

The £5bn programme programme was introduced in 2021 by the previous Conservative administration with the aim of accelerating the UK’s recovery from Covid-19, boosting high-growth sectors such as tech and the creative industries; and levelling up the country, spreading wealth and creating jobs across the country.

On its launch, the scheme looked to prioritise areas with slow connections that were seen as being left behind in commercial broadband companies’ plans, give communities in so-called hard-to-reach places access to the fastest internet on the market, helping to grow the economy.

After election in July 2024, the current Labour administration reconfirmed the original objective to build a broadband infrastructure that would see 85% of the UK have gigabit-capable connectivity by the end of 2025 and then full nationwide coverage by 2030.

Project Gigabit is also playing a role in plans to kickstart economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity as part of the Government’s Plan for Change working on the belief that  communities that would otherwise be left behind with outdated broadband networks would instead be able to make the most of what the digital world has to offer when offered faster internet speeds.

By April 2024, more than £1.3bn had already been invested in Project Gigabit contracts, resulting in nearly 82% of properties across the UK having access to gigabit broadband, up from just 7% at the same time five years ago. This investment saw more than a million rural homes, businesses and public buildings upgraded to gigabit-capable networks. In addition, the UK government said Project Gigabit is now delivering gigabit connectivity to more than 1.1 million hard-to-reach properties.

The latest development sees the UK government sign four new contracts worth over £289m with Openreach to offer gigabit broadband access to areas including North and Southwest Wales – in particular the Dee Valley and Isle of Anglesey – as well as Shropshire, Herefordshire, Devon, Somerset, Essex, North East England and Worcestershire.

In August 2024, the UK government announced up to £800m in government investment in a contract with Openreach to modernise broadband infrastructure in rural areas of England, Scotland and Wales, ending the plight of buffering for up to 96,600 premises. Overall, Project Gigabit contracts representing more than £2.2bn investment have now been signed with over ten different suppliers to deliver the upgrades, including many smaller, independent broadband providers.

Commenting on the new deployment, UK technology secretary Peter Kyle said: “We are determined to deliver the infrastructure this country needs to thrive…With today’s £289m investment, we are 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 this 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.”