In today’s Budget [30 October 2024], Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, said: “With over £500 million of funding next year, my right honourable friend for science, technology and innovation secretary [ Peter Kyle] will continue to drive progress in improving reliable fast broadband and mobile coverage across our country, including in rural areas.”
This follows, the previous Conservative government having established two major investment initiatives for broadband and mobile network improvement.
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The first being the £1 billion industry-driven Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, designed to enhance 4G mobile coverage to reach 95% of the UK geographically by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, the second being the £5 billion Project Gigabit scheme, which successfully brought 1Gbps+ broadband speeds to at least 85% of UK premises and now targets nationwide coverage by 2030, the Autumn 2024 Budget Document stated.
Commenting on the announcement, ISPA UK head of public affairs, Andrew Kernahan, said: "Broadband rollout has been a UK success story in recent years, with gigabit-speed coverage available across 85% of the country, alongside 70% full-fibre availability. Primarily driven by billions of pounds of private investment from a range of operators in recent years, government investment has nonetheless been crucial in accelerating this programme.
"We welcome today's news from the Chancellor that £500m of public investment will continue to fund underserved areas in the next year, helping communities experience the transformative benefits of gigabit broadband. The original funding for Project Gigabit was up to £5bn, and there is around £2bn yet to be spent - it is important that the government continues to commit to future funding to meet its target of full gigabit broadband coverage by 2030."
