On 4 March 2021, the House of Commons Library released a new research briefing on the roll-out of superfast broadband in the UK and the Government’s superfast broadband funding programme.
So far, the roll-out of superfast broadband in the UK has primarily been led by private companies such as Openreach and Virgin Media. The Government’s policy is to support the roll-out of superfast broadband to those areas not reached by private investment.
The Superfast Broadband Programme was the Government’s main programme for supporting these areas from 2010. The programme is ongoing but is in its final stages.
The programme has supported connections to around 5.9 million premises and has enabled the Government to reach its targets for superfast broadband broadly on time.
According to the briefing’s investigation into current superfast broadband coverage across the UK, the North West and London currently have the best superfast coverage, while the South West and Northern Ireland have the worst.
The National Audit Office have reported that the superfast programme, by prioritising coverage over speed, left the hardest-to-reach premises behind.
Further support for areas without superfast broadband is now delivered through the Government’s policies on gigabit-capable broadband. The Government has committed £5 billion to support delivery of gigabit-capable broadband to the 20% hardest to reach premises in the UK, starting with those that do not have access to superfast broadband.
Read the full report here.