Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the (1) availability, and (2) reliability, of broadband in rural communities.

In March 2021, the Government launched Project Gigabit, its £5 billion mission to bring lightning-fast, reliable broadband to premises in rural and hard-to-reach locations across the UK. We have already made over £1.4 billion of funding available to broadband suppliers to build gigabit-capable infrastructure to premises that will not be reached by suppliers’ commercial plans alone.

Support is also available through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which provides a subsidy of up to £4,500 for residents and businesses in rural areas towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband via local community broadband projects.

The Government is committed to working with broadband suppliers to ensure 85% of UK premises can access gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, and then for nationwide coverage by 2030. We are on track to achieve our target.

The Government is also working to ensure that very hard to reach premises that may be unable to access a gigabit-capable connection in future also see an improvement in their connectivity. In April, the Government announced an £8 million fund to provide capital grants to further promote new satellite connectivity to up to the most remote 35,000 premises, helping these premises get improved broadband where required. Further details on the value of the grants, who will be able to apply for the scheme, and how to apply, will be released in due course.