How the UK government supported superfast broadband for businesses
Wednesday 30th October 2024
Researching the available support for business broadband can help take your organisation’s communications to the next level
Modern consumers expect the most at all times; they know what they want, and they want it five minutes ago. Staying connected is essential to the success of today’s businesses, no matter your size or sector, and that means superfast broadband is a must.
From online orders to digital marketing, a strong online connection can help your business thrive in a competitive, fast-paced industry. Thankfully, there is support available for businesses looking to up their broadband speed.
In recent years, superfast broadband has moved from an advantage to a necessity, and national changes reflect this. We’re going to take a closer look at how government initiatives and support around broadband have changed.
The copper network shutdown
Copper cables connect every home and workplace in the UK to their local telephone exchange. These wires have been in place in some shape or form since 1911, but over the next few years, they will be switched off for good.
This is to allow for a national move towards Fibre Optic, or Full Fibre connectivity. The tentative deadline for this switch off is 2027, but Openreach has already stated that once an area is served by 75% fibre, no more copper-based services will be sold.
This is a huge change set to impact 25 million UK premises, but the benefits are substantial, resulting in better, faster connections and fewer faults.
Gigabit-capable broadband
The copper network switch off is tied into another government initiative: the move to gigabit-capable broadband. This will be available to 85% of the UK by 2025, and will be nationwide by 2030.
Gigabit-broadband refers to download speeds of at least 1-gigabit per second. It can be delivered by a range of technologies, including high-speed cable broadband, full fibre, and wireless tech.
Last year, Ofgem reported that around three quarters of premises had a gigabit-broadband connection available.
Government targets for superfast broadband
The government’s original target for gigabit-capable broadband, first put forward in 2019, was to achieve nationwide gigabit-broadband by 2025. This was later amended to 85% by 2025. In 2022, a new target was set for nationwide gigabit-broadband by 2030.
This has been described as a more realistic goal by industry stakeholders, though some fear it could create digital inequality across more rural areas. Public funding is being raised to make sure these targets are met.
Rolling out gigabit-broadband
Private investment will be the main driving force behind the building of gigabit-broadband infrastructure. Companies providing this investment will decide when and where to build said infrastructure based on commercial factors.
The government expects that 80% of the rollout can be done on commercial investment alone, while the remaining 20% will require public subsidies. The government strategy includes plans for policy reform to make it easier for the telecoms industry to build infrastructure and foster a more competitive market.
What support is available?
£5 billion has been promised by the government to subsidise the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband in the hardest to reach areas of the UK. This funding programme is called ‘Project Gigabit’, delivered by Building Digital UK, part of the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT).
Project Gigabit plans to reach at least 1.56 million premises by 2025, which is around 5% of all premises in the UK. Exploring the support available for businesses can ensure your organisation has all the help it needs to seamlessly transition to better, faster broadband.
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