Government to pump £5bn into speedier internet to accelerate Covid recovery
The government is pumping £5bn into speeding up internet access to those in rural parts of the UK, in a bid to accelerate the country’s Covid-19 recovery.
Millions stand to benefit from the government’s Project Gigabit fund, which seeks to upgrade digital infrastructure in hard-to-reach areas.
The fund also looks to “fire up” high-growth sectors like tech and the creative industries – after the arts underwent quite the battering during the pandemic.
Up to 1,850,000 more locations across 26 English counties will get access to gigabit-speed internet of 1,000 megabits per second – enough to download an HD movie in less than 30 seconds, the government said in a statement.
It will bring the current total number of premises in scope for government-funded coverage to 2.2m.
However, more locations are set to be confirmed over the coming months across the rest of the UK.
The latest bout of funding means the government is also on track to hit its target of achieving at least 85 per cent gigabit-capable UK coverage by 2025.
“Millions more rural homes and businesses will now be lifted out of the digital slow lane,” digital secretary Oliver Dowden said, adding that “This broadband revolution will create jobs, power up businesses and allow everyone to access vital services at lightning-fast speed, helping us build back better from the pandemic.”