Building Digital UK (BDUK) has published its latest quarterly update regarding the progress of ‘Project Gigabit’ – the programme under which the UK aims to ultimately to increase access to gigabit speeds to 85% of premises by 2025. In its December 2023 update BDUK confirmed that it had exceeded its delivery target for the year, passing 162,600 premises with gigabit-capable broadband, against the minimum target trajectory of 133,000 set out in its ‘Corporate Plan’.
In total, BDUK is now confirmed to have delivered gigabit connectivity to 929,700 premises, mainly in hard-to-reach communities across the UK. According to the government body the most significant regional growth since its September 2023 has been in the North East, where an additional 5% of premises gained access to a gigabit-speed service. Meanwhile, BDUK said that around 79% of the UK’s premises now have access to gigabit speeds, putting it on track to achieve the ultimate coverage target set under the programme.
Of further note, since its previous quarterly project update in September 2023, BDUK claimed to have: signed four regional and local contracts which combined represented GBP76 million (USD96 million) of government investment to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to up to 33,000 premises; added potential Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland and Northern Ireland to the procurement pipeline which will cover up to 160,000 premises; and published three evaluation and research reports looking at the impacts, costs and benefits of legacy programmes.