The UK government says its delivered on a manifesto commitment to extend superfast broadband to 95 per cent of the UK by the end of 2017.
Figures published by thinkbroadband.com confirm that over 19 out of 20 UK homes now have superfast broadband available to them – defined as being a connection speed of 24 mbps or faster – and more than double what regulator Ofcom advises as being required by the typical family home.
The £1.7 billion is being invested in the 4.5 million UK premises in areas deemed not commercially viable for superfast broadband.
“Over the last 5 years, the Government’s rollout of superfast broadband has made superfast speeds a reality for more than 4.5 million homes and businesses who would otherwise have missed out,” said DCMS Secretary of State, Matt Hancock. “We’ve delivered on our commitment to reach 95% of homes and businesses in the UK, but there’s still more to do in our work building a Britain that’s fit for the future. We’re reaching thousands more premises every single week, and the next commitment is to making affordable, reliable, high speed broadband a legal right to everyone by 2020.”
The UK government is introducing a Universal Service Obligation that will give everyone the the legal right to high speed broadband (10Mbps or faster) by 2020.
“We have come a long way in a short space of time, with one of the fastest broadband deployments in the world. This is an important milestone – but we’re not stopping here. We’re determined to get Britain – the whole of Britain – hooked up to decent broadband speeds. The Government’s Universal Service Obligation will make high speed broadband a legal right and we’ll be working with industry, Government and Ofcom to deliver this,” Clive Selley, CEO, Openreach, said.
Local Authorties are also participating in the project that will have £687 million available for local authorities to re-invest and take superfast speeds to those homes and businesses not already covered by existing plans.
