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.