A new report has found our £2.6 billion scheme rolling out superfast broadband sparked a surge in home values, economic benefits and job creation
The £2.6 billion government scheme to roll out superfast broadband to ‘commercially unviable’ parts of the UK sparked a surge in home values of up to £3,500, according to a new report.
More than 96% of homes and businesses can now access superfast broadband, which provides a minimum of 30 megabits per second and fast enough to allow multiple people to hold video calls, watch high-definition movies and enjoy online gaming at the same time.
But as the government prepares to kick off its new £5 billion programme to roll out even faster gigabit broadband, Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden highlights that 11 million - or two in five - homes are yet to upgrade to superfast despite it being available in their area.
The independent review of the Superfast Broadband Programme, which secured faster connections for 5.5 million homes and businesses, found it had created £2.7 billion in economic benefits since starting in 2012, including:
The availability of faster coverage also helped power businesses and sparked a £1.9 billion increase in total annual turnover for firms based in areas upgraded through the programme.
The report, conducted by Ipsos MORI, concludes the programme’s value for money is continuing to rise. For every £1 invested by the government in the programme, an additional £2.70-£3.80 of economic and social benefits has been created in the UK economy.
Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said:
The programme saw the UK government join forces with councils and devolved administrations to invest more than £2.6 billion to ensure superfast speeds were rolled out to areas across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where no plans for commercial build were in place.
Gareth Williams, CEO at Gigaclear, said:
Openreach CEO, Clive Selley, said:
The Government is now focused on delivering even faster ‘gigabit’ connections to all homes and businesses through a new £5 billion rollout programme. More details on the first areas to benefit from the scheme will be announced shortly.
One in three premises already have access to gigabit speeds which are capable of delivering 1,000 megabits per second. These allow people to enjoy next-generation technologies such as 4K and virtual reality streaming.
The UK is on track to connect 4.5 million premises per year, a higher build rate than most comparable countries, and by the end of this year more than half the country will have access to gigabit-capable networks.
In response to Covid-19, the government and Ofcom agreed a set of commitments with the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators to support vulnerable consumers during the pandemic.
Providers committed to working with customers who are finding it difficult to pay their bill as a result of Covid-19 to ensure that they were treated fairly and appropriately supported, in addition to providing new and generous landline and mobile offers, such as free or low cost mobile data boosts.
The government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.
The major mobile network operators are also supporting a government project enabling schools to request an uplift in mobile data caps for disadvantaged children who rely on mobile data to access remote education. Furthermore, a number of websites, including the NHS and educational websites, have been zero-rated.
The government is closely monitoring the situation, and will work with communication providers if further additional support options are required to ensure consumers get the connectivity they need.