UK Government Waters Down Gigabit Broadband Goals Amid Spending Review
15% of the UK's households just got shafted
Published: 27th November 2020 | Source: BBC |
UK Government Waters Down Gigabit Broadband Goals Amid Spending Review
The UK's ambitious plans to bring gigabit broadband to every home in the nation by 2025 has been dramatically scaled back, with the announcement coming as part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's latest spending review.
Now, the UK plans to offer Gigabit broadband to 85% of the UK's households by 2025, with the government cutting next year's spending on the project. While next year's spending has been cut for the project, the project's budget of $5 billion remains.
Strangely, only £1.2 billion of the government's £5 billion budget has been allocated before 2025, acting as a quiet admission that the Government will likely miss their 2025 deadline. The government's budget will "subsidise the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband … to the hardest-to-reach areas", bringing Gigabit speeds to the nation's most rural areas.
With the government's Gigabit Broadband Plan, the NIS (National Infrastructure Strategy) plans to bring gigabit coverage to as many homes as possible, delivering high-speed internet across the nation. In an era where working from home has become more common, and digital infrastructure has become more important than ever, this is a worthy goal. The only problem is that the Government has lowered its target, leaving rural areas of the UK with sub-par internet speeds.
Now, the UK plans to offer Gigabit broadband to 85% of the UK's households by 2025, with the government cutting next year's spending on the project. While next year's spending has been cut for the project, the project's budget of $5 billion remains.
Strangely, only £1.2 billion of the government's £5 billion budget has been allocated before 2025, acting as a quiet admission that the Government will likely miss their 2025 deadline. The government's budget will "subsidise the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband … to the hardest-to-reach areas", bringing Gigabit speeds to the nation's most rural areas.
With the government's Gigabit Broadband Plan, the NIS (National Infrastructure Strategy) plans to bring gigabit coverage to as many homes as possible, delivering high-speed internet across the nation. In an era where working from home has become more common, and digital infrastructure has become more important than ever, this is a worthy goal. The only problem is that the Government has lowered its target, leaving rural areas of the UK with sub-par internet speeds.
If the government's plan succeeds, most of the UK will have access to Gigabit internet, though the government's lowered targets will nonetheless be seen as a kick in the teeth for those in rural and semi-rural areas. Many rural areas of the UK still lack access to 30Mbps broadband, and it now looks like many of those areas will also be missing out on the government's Gigabit internet rollout.
You can join the discussion on the UK watering down its Gigabit rollout plans on the OC3D Forums.
Most Recent Comments
I would not agree with "shafted". Things have changed so much this year and with borrowing at an all time high the less important stuff will have to give way.Quote
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Originally Posted by RobM
I would not agree with "shafted". Things have changed so much this year and with borrowing at an all time high the less important stuff will have to give way.
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Honestly who would actually miss "the bureau of statistical analysis of landfill management" ? These types of utterly useless things are everywhere in the UK and setup simply as jobs for the old school boys, The UK needs a very major reshuffle top to bottom to get this crap out.Quote
While both are true, interest rates are at all time historic lows, now is the best time to "borrow" in a century, "borrowing" now could save Bns in interest on future borrowing. Of course in the UK none of it is actually borrowing because the govt controls the Bank of England that issues the currency, so the govt. is actually just "borrowing" from another element of itself, the bonds are readily bought up at the moment because spending now would so obviously deliver benefits to the recovery. The BoE is currently quantitative easing ("printing") hundreds of Billions of new money into supply with no impact on inflation because it's all going straight into increasing productivity or consumer spending. The idea that we should be cutting back on critical infrastructure spending because of an economic "finite finances" fallacy created by the British media elite will hamstring any recovery and ensure it's as flawed as Britains shockingly slow recovery from the 2008 economic crisis.
This is the first steps to austerity, a tried and failed approach economically that exists primarily now as a political tool to underfund services to then justify privatisation, inevitably ending with MPs selling off assets to their family and mates in underhand deals, just as Matt Hancock did recently amongst his many colleagues who have done similar during this pandemic.Quote
This is the first steps to austerity, a tried and failed approach economically that exists primarily now as a political tool to underfund services to then justify privatisation, inevitably ending with MPs selling off assets to their family and mates in underhand deals, just as Matt Hancock did recently amongst his many colleagues who have done similar during this pandemic.Quote
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Originally Posted by tgrech
While both are true, interest rates are at all time historic lows, now is the best time to "borrow" in a century, "borrowing" now could save Bns in interest on future borrowing. Of course in the UK none of it is actually borrowing because the govt controls the Bank of England that issues the currency, so the govt. is actually just "borrowing" from another element of itself, the bonds are readily bought up at the moment because spending now would so obviously deliver benefits to the recovery. The BoE is currently quantitative easing ("printing") hundreds of Billions of new money into supply with no impact on inflation because it's all going straight into increasing productivity or consumer spending. The idea that we should be cutting back on critical infrastructure spending because of an economic "finite finances" fallacy created by the British media elite will hamstring any recovery and ensure it's as flawed as Britains shockingly slow recovery from the 2008 economic crisis.
This is the first steps to austerity, a tried and failed approach economically that exists primarily now as a political tool to underfund services to then justify privatisation, inevitably ending with MPs selling off assets to their family and mates in underhand deals, just as Matt Hancock did recently amongst his many colleagues who have done similar during this pandemic. |
Yep, The main issue with the UK, And it's been this way for the longest time, Cronyism, It's never been what you know and what your skill base is, It's always been who you know and what type of handshake you have, It's why the UK is in such a subpar state as we have people who don't have a clue about real life telling people how to live while spending tax payers money, Nothing other than a full blown revolution would need to be had to fix it but people in the UK will simply kowtow and get on with their day while the fat cat "I say what what Giles" types get richer, The poor get poorer and the cost of living keeps going up and up.Quote
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