Mersey Reporter - #Merseybites #News

MORE than one million homes, businesses and public buildings can now access the best internet speeds on the market as a result of the UK Government’s rollout of faster, more reliable broadband; showing our plan to connect hard to reach communities is working.

For over a decade the UK Government has been investing in the construction of ‘gigabit-capable’ networks in areas that are too difficult or expensive for broadband suppliers to reach as part of their commercial plans.

This long term decision has helped to grow the rural economy, create jobs, and ensure those in rural and remote communities across the country can reap the rewards of lightning fast connectivity, from hamlets surrounding Land’s End in Cornwall to a Royal Air Force radar station in the northern isles of Shetland.

New data shows 1,006,800 homes and businesses have been connected, or are able to access, a better broadband connection thanks to UK Government-funded programmes since the 1st upgrade was delivered in August 2012; the equivalent of rolling out to one home, business or public building every 6 minutes.

The majority of these premises are in hard-to-reach rural locations, where residents and businesses previously would have struggled to perform basic online tasks that others take for granted such as:- shopping or banking online, participating in a work video call, streaming a high-definition film or online learning.

Thanks to upgrades delivered under government-backed broadband rollout programmes, these premises can now access more reliable services than traditional copper-based networks. Gigabit speeds mean households can download a high-definition film in under one minute, shop online across several different devices at once and utilise high definition video calls, such as with a GP, allowing for better healthcare.

The million premises includes:- 5,300 public buildings; including:- schools, libraries, hospitals, police stations, council offices, and more. The upgrades have helped boost productivity in public services and create better experiences for those who use them, while encouraging broadband companies to extend the network to surrounding homes and businesses - improving economic security and opportunity for everyone.

Businesses; which have already increased turnover by £2.6 billion in areas targeted by our Superfast programme; will particularly benefit from gigabit capable technologies, with greater speed and reliability allowing them to bring in more orders and complete more work remotely anywhere in the UK, in turn boosting growth across our country.

The UK Government’s rollout is continuing to gather pace, with more than £77 million worth of Project Gigabit contracts signed today to connect around 32,400 rural premises across Gloucestershire, West, and parts of North Yorkshire. Project Gigabit is a record £5 billion programme to ensure hard to reach areas are not left behind in the national upgrade to gigabit broadband.

This forms part of the UK building gigabit networks faster than any country in the EU, thanks in part to government measures to stimulate competition and bust barriers to rollout.

Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said:- "Achieving a million gigabit-ready premises shows our plan to turbocharge British broadband is working. Thanks to our investment, rural communities held back by achingly slow internet can now tap into the best speeds on the market. The UK is rolling out gigabit networks faster than any country in the EU, with 8 in 10 premises now able to access upgrades. It is a track record that shows we are rapidly building the infrastructure Britain needs to improve lives and grow the economy."

To mark the milestone, Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan will be visiting the rural town of Wooler in Northumberland, on:- Thursday, 22 February 2024, to see the impact of the Government's rollout. She will meet one entrepreneur who launched a successful hotel business as a result of the upgrades, as well as firms and employees who say the broadband boost has helped improve their productivity.

Most of the 1 million premises are spread across hard to reach areas of the UK, including:- 68,800 in Scotland, 108,800 in Wales, and 118,900 in Northern Ireland. Hundreds of thousands more will be connected in the coming months and years via Project Gigabit. Over £1.1 billion has already been signed in Project Gigabit contracts to connect more than 700,000 premises in England, from Northumberland, Durham and Cumbria to Cornwall, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

Now, around 80% of the UK is covered by gigabit broadband, up from just 6% in 2019, and the UK is on track to achieve 85% by 2025. Having the fastest connections also means the UK is fit for the future, with broadband infrastructure designed to deliver for people’s needs for decades to come.

Today’s announcement comes as the Government outlines details of UKRI’s £70m Future Telecoms Programme, funded through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund and supporting 1 of 5 critical technologies, which will see 16 UK projects share £22m to support development and commercialisation of cutting edge tech solutions and lay the groundwork for the networks of the future.

Meanwhile £40m will provide further support for three existing Future Telecoms Research Hubs - led by Imperial College London, Oxford, and Cambridge Universities - alongside the creation of a dedicated national infrastructure for future telecoms testing and development linked to the UK National Dark Fibre - to support research in 6G, developing new architectures and networks for end-to-end connectivity, embedding AI and computing and developing wireless access systems such as cell-free networks and optical wireless integration.

Dr Kedar Pandya, UKRI Technology Missions Fund Senior Responsible Owner, said:- "The investment announced today will play an important role in advancing the telecoms technologies of tomorrow, supporting both early-stage research and market ready solutions. It underlines the role the Technology Missions Fund and UKRI support plays in unlocking the potential of new technologies that will have a profound impact on society and the economy."

The UK is also delivering high-speed, reliable connectivity to some of our very hardest to reach locations using satellite connectivity through the:- 'Very Hard to Reach Alpha Trials.' These trials are testing the extent to which low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites can be used to deliver high speed low latency broadband connections to areas which are typically beyond the building capability of internet service providers. This includes:-transforming connectivity for some of the country's most important wildlife havens and sites of historical importance within protected landscapes.

This means bigger opportunities for many
more UK businesses including those on Merseyside! What are your thoughts about this? Please let us know below!