High speed broadband is to be piloted in six different regions of the UK using full fibre networks offering connection speeds of 1,000 megabits per second in a bid to improve the quality of broadband coverage across the country
The projects will get around £10m to test innovative ways of connecting offices and public sector buildings with the next generation of broadband - full fibre networks that run fibre connections straight to the doors of customers’ homes or businesses.
Test projects will go ahead in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, West Sussex, Coventry and Warwickshire, Bristol and Bath & North East Somerset, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.
This marks the first stage of a £200m scheme to roll out faster and more reliable broadband to businesses, schools and hospitals announced in the Budget in March.
The remaining £190m will be spent by 2020-21.
The announcement is the first step in a £200m programme announced by the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, at the Budget in March and is part of the government’s four-year plan to encourage the growth of full fibre broadband across the UK.
This is critical with the rollout of increasingly broadband dependent services, such as Making Tax Digital, when it starts to come into effect for VAT reporting from April 2019.
Report by Sara White