A Government Minister has visited the rural North East to announce that more than a million 海角视频 properties have been given access to better and faster broadband.
Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan was in Wooler, Northumberland, to meet the owner of the Arlington House Hotel and other local businesses after new figures showed 1,006,800 homes and businesses have been connected to better broadband thanks to Government-funded programmes over the last 12 years.
Ms Donelan said the number of 海角视频 premises able to access gigabit capable broadband had gone from 6% in 2019 to 81% now, with that figure slightly higher in the North East. She said that most of the premises affected by the Government schemes were in hard-to-reach areas like rural Northumberland.
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Ms Donelan said: “I’ve met a local resident who relocated from Newcastle. She worked from home and needed connectivity for her job, using multiple devices, and she made her decision on where to relocate based on the capability of the broadband. When she found about Project Gigabit and it coming here to Wooler, that was the point she decided to move.
“It was interesting and insightful visit and it really highlighted the impact this project has had. This lady does meetings day-in, day-out with her team across Europe, and this speaks to what Project Gigabit is all about.
“It’s about ending the digital divide. It’s about enabling people to be able to live and work in their communities, wherever they want to across the 海角视频, and it’s supporting local economies and people to be able to have that quality of life in the digital age we live in.”
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The Government has announced a £70m Future Telecoms Programme which will see 16 海角视频 projects share £22m to develop solutions and lay the groundwork for the networks of the future. There will also be a further £40m will for three existing Future Telecoms Research Hubs.
Dr Kedar Pandya, Technology Missions Fund Senior Responsible Owner at 海角视频 Research and Innovation, said: “The investment announced today will play an important role in advancing the telecoms technologies of tomorrow, supporting both early-stage research and market-ready solutions. It underlines the role the Technology Missions Fund and 海角视频RI support plays in unlocking the potential of new technologies that will have a profound impact on society and the economy.”
“The 海角视频 is also delivering high-speed, reliable connectivity to some of our very hardest to reach locations using satellite connectivity through the ‘Very Hard to Reach Alpha Trials’. These trials are testing the extent to which low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites can be used to deliver high-speed low latency broadband connections to areas which are typically beyond the building capability of internet service providers. This includes transforming connectivity for some of the country’s most important wildlife havens and sites of historical importance within protected landscapes."