Government allocates new money for gigabit fibre broadband

The Chancellor’s Spring Statement has allocated the first wave of funding for improving broadband optical fibre communications across the country.

Around £95m will come out of the Government’s £190m Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) budget for 13 areas across the UK.

This represents the government’s attempt to address the disappointing level of access to gigabit-capable data communications across the country.

Whilst 95% of UK premises can now get superfast broadband, only 3% have access to gigabit-capable full fibre infrastructure.

The first areas to benefit will be: Armagh City, (including Banbridge & Craigavon), Belfast, Blackpool, Cambridgeshire, Cardiff, Coventry (including Solihull & Warwickshire), The Highlands, London, Manchester, Mid Sussex, North Yorkshire, Portsmouth, and Wolverhampton.

The government hopes to combine local and commercial investment in full fibre by funding a series of projects that seek to stimulate the market by making the deployment of gigabit-capable full fibre infrastructure more commercially viable.

The successful projects include: using hospitals, health centres and GP surgeries as a full-fibre hub which surrounding homes and businesses can then also be connected to. There are also plans to create “fibre spines” along major transport routes and public building networks.

Schools, libraries and emergency services buildings will be upgraded to gigabit-capable full fibre connections.

The LFFN programme is part of the government’s £31bn national productivity investment fund aimed at improving the UK’s overall productivity.