Superfast broadband reaches 95% of UK premises

DCMS Secretary of State Matt Hancock this morning announced that superfast broadband had been made available to 95% of the UK, in line with Government’ target to deliver speeds of at least 24Mbps by the end of 2017.

The £1.7 billion government roll out program has seen more than 4.5 million UK premises in areas deemed “not commercially viable??? having access to superfast speeds. Independent website ThinkBroadband confirmed the numbers.

Openreach, the Government’s major partner on the project, was primarily responsible for reaching the bulk of the 95% target, with 800,000 homes and businesses reached last year alone, either through commercial programs or the Government’s BDUK initiative.

Over 2.25 million homes and businesses have taken up superfast speeds delivered through BDUK, meaning that funding is recycled and this, combined with project efficiencies, has resulted in £687 still available for local authorities to re-invest in taking superfast speeds to areas yet unreached. This money should see superfast coverage reach around 97% over the past few years.

DCMS Secretary of State Matt Hancock concluded that “the next commitment is to making affordable, reliable, high speed broadband a legal right to everyone by 2020???. The Universal Service Obligation, once in effect, will grant the legal right to high speed broadband (at least 10Mbps) to everyone in the UK by 2020.