The UK government has watered down its broadband targets again, promising to deliver nationwide gigabit broadband coverage 5 years later than originally planned.
The Conservative manifesto already before the general elections of XNUMX promised a national coverage of fiber to the premises (FTTP) by XNUMX, but since then the government has backed down. The revised target is XNUMX%, and the government is also breaching its commitment to use whole fiber.
Meanwhile, only €1.200 billion of the €5.000 billion of funds promised in this legislature will be disbursed.
Gigabit broadband in the UK
The new official target is national coverage by 2030 and was discovered in the government's 'Leveling Up' white paper. This document describes how the government plans to make the country more equal and reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Connectivity is seen as key to realizing this ambition, as it will open up a range of social, economic and educational opportunities in more parts of the country as society goes digital.
Openreach plans to reach XNUMX million homes and businesses with full fiber by XNUMX, as multiple altnets like CityFibre and Hyperoptic are building FTTP networks.
Meanwhile, the 1 million properties connected to Virgin Media's cable network can already see XNUMXGbps, and the company plans to upgrade that footprint to fiber. Reports suggest their parent companies could go even further in a new joint venture.
The government's Gigabit project will seek to cover fairly hard-to-reach areas not covered by commercial launches, but the white paper did not give specific details about the new ideas.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently expressed concern that any 'full coverage' target for 2030 would be lost as there were no concrete provisions for rural areas.
In addition, MPs fear that the government is relying too heavily on the private sector to achieve its goals, charges denied by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The government document also promises nationwide 4G coverage for exactly the same data, citing the pre-existing Red Rural Compartida (SRN) and 5G coverage for most of the population. EE has already promised to bring 5G to XNUMX% of the UK's geographic area by XNUMX and it is unclear what ancillary government support is going to be offered to advance this amount.