The U.K. Government last week released figures that show a record $891 million has been committed to boosting rural broadband coverage in 2024. New data shows that since the beginning of 2024, the U.K. Government is rapidly boosting access to fast and reliable internet, enabling nearly 380,000 rural premises to access broadband connections.
The Government says that upgrades will give rural communities access to the fastest internet on the market, helping to grow their local economies. Areas set to benefit include Yorkshire, The Isles of Scilly and Dorset, with the funding forming part of the U.K. Government’s flagship $6.2 billion Project Gigabit program. Separate contracts were awarded to connect up to 800 primary schools in England, jointly funded through Project Gigabit and the Department of Education.
The funding to date brings the total invested to $1.6 billion. Nearly 82 percent of properties across the country can now access high speed broadband, up from just 7 percent this time five years ago. The U.K. Government claims that it continues to roll out gigabit broadband faster than any other EU nation.
“The figures published today demonstrate just how rapidly we are getting higher quality, gigabit broadband to every part of the country – even some of our most remote, rural areas,” comments Julia Lopez, U.K. Minister for Data and Digital. “Whether that be to a business on the coast of Cornwall or the hills of the Peak District, patchy and poor connection should never be a barrier to economic growth or somebody’s life chances.”
As part of this year’s investment, the U.K. Government announced $206 million in contracts to connect properties across England, including Yorkshire and Cornwall. Almost 90,000 premises are set to benefit from the contracts, with full fiber connections capable of delivering speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
Properties connected through Project Gigabit are in hard-to-reach rural locations, where residents and businesses previously would have difficulty in performing basic online tasks because of poor and patchy connections. Over one million rural homes, businesses and public buildings have already been upgraded to gigabit-capable networks as a result of the U.K. Government investments, according to the release.
By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor
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