The government has officially launched a new £400 million fund aimed at boosting investment in “full-fibre” broadband. With the aim of providing full-fibre broadband throughout the country, this latest move by the government will look to bring the UK in line with countries where full-fibre optic broadband is provided nationwide.
Pledges
The fund will assist in bringing speeds of up to 1Gbps to both households and businesses across the UK, helping make the switch from relying on copper cables to connect to roadside cabinets, to fibre-optic cables that run directly to a property. While the majority of households and businesses in the UK don’t currently require 1Gbps speeds, this action is being seen as a “future proof” solution.
The government’s pledge promises that 95% of UK properties by the end of this year, with 100% of the UK having 10Mbps by the end of 2020. BT’s telecoms infrastructure division, Openreach, has claimed it believes two million premises will have “full-fibre” access in less than three years, with a further 10 million premises having access to 330Mbps via a new copper-based technology by the same time-scale.
Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund
With the goal of boosting the number of properties who have access to ultra-fast broadband using fibre-to-the-property technology over the next four years, The Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund, certainly has its work cut out. At present, “full fibre” is available to only about one million premises in the UK, representing about 2% penetration, compared to that of Spain, where the figure is closer to 80%.
To find out more about how this new government fund will impact your business, or how to improve your current internet speed, call 0800 999 3365 and speak to a member of our team.