Autumn Statement 2016: Government to announce £400m boost for faster broadband

Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is set to announce a £400m investment in rolling out ‘full-fibre’ broadband across the UK when he delivers the Autumn Statement on November 23rd.

This new Digital Investment Fund, which will be matched by private investors, will inject £1bn in helping Britain upgrade its digital infrastructure.

Only 2% of the UK currently have access to full-fibre broadband, which is considered the “gold standard” of broadband.

As he delivers the Autumn Statement, Mr Hammond is expected to say that this investment in broadband speeds will allow two million more homes and businesses access ‘full-fibre’ broadband, which can deliver speeds of more than one gigabit per second.

At these speeds, users of the broadband will be able to download an entire television box-set in less than a minute.

In addition, the Chancellor is also set to allocate funding to an increased number of fibre broadband networks, in partnership with local areas across the UK, with an aim of providing faster connections for businesses and help boost the economy.

The new fund is also set to be used to trial the next generation of mobile technology, 5G, but no launch date has yet been confirmed.