£5bn government connectivity strategy moves forward with consultation

The government has announced the next steps of its multi-billion pound plan to provide gigabit-capable broadband to the entire country.

A consultation has been launched on the draft procurement strategy for the £5bn UK Gigabit Programme

The consultation will set out plans to connect the first one million homes and businesses with gigabit speed broadband and maximise coverage in the hardest to reach 20 per cent of the UK by 2025.

Homes and businesses that do not yet have access to superfast broadband will be prioritised. With speeds increasing from less than 30 megabits per second to more than 1,000 megabits per second, or one gigabit per second.

Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure, commented: “Today we’ve set out our bold programme of national infrastructure projects to future-proof the UK’s internet networks so we can build back better from coronavirus and create new jobs and economic opportunities.

“We will begin these procurements rapidly so broadband providers big and small can move quickly to get the job done and level up communities with this much faster, next generation broadband.”

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