The UK government has given an update on its flagship £5bn 'Project Gigabit' scheme, announcing that just over £1bn of funding has now been allocated to various suppliers. The project itself has set out to bring ultrafast broadband capable of delivering 1,000Mbps (or 1Gbps) connections to 'every corner' of the country.
The news has come in a quarterly report given by the government's Building Digital UK team, which has detailed several examples of the contracts that have been awarded so far, including the £36m recently given to a broadband supplier in the South West.
The report has also stated how collectively the £1bn of procurements equate to over 730,000 new premises being able to access gigabit-capable networks. What's more, with the rollout, each nation in the UK is said to now have over 50% gigabit-capable coverage.
As such, the project seems well on course to meet the 85% coverage target the government has set for 2025. In addition, as this accessibility grows, consumers may also start to see more and more 1Gbps tariffs making their way into the top broadband deals on offer from UK providers.
What is 'Project Gigabit'?
Project Gigabit was first announced as a pledge in the 2020 Spring Budget before then being officially launched in March 2021. The government refers to it as its '£5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to homes and businesses across the UK' - but in particular it aims to 'level up hard-to-reach premises and deliver next generation connectivity'.
The £5bn pot is something providers can bid to receive funding from, to then use to specifically boost and support the respective rollouts of their gigabit-capable networks. There is also a big focus on bringing this broadband to rural and more remote locations.
As aforementioned, the overarching aim is to secure at least 85% coverage across the country for these ultrafast connections by 2025.
What are the benefits of this ultrafast broadband?
Gigabit connections also bring several other benefits to both homes and businesses. These include:
- Faster downloads and potential productivity and efficiency for workers.
- Less downtime for users.
- Opportunities for customers to access other forms of digital media.
- Easier access to cloud storage.
Can I get gigabit-capable broadband?
While the rollout is still continuing, there are now more opportunities than ever for UK households to get gigabit-capable broadband from leading ISPs. What's more, many of these providers offer checkers for customers to use to see if they can indeed access these packages.
We can also help you with this. If you enter your postcode into our widget below, you'll be able to see if any of these deals are available in your area.
