Culture Secretary Confirms 2025 UK Gigabit Broadband for All Aim

The Culture Secretary, Nicky Morgan MP, has confirmed that the Government is still focused upon delivering “gigabit-capable” broadband to all by the end of 2025. The target appeared to be cast into doubt earlier this week after a briefing on the Queen’s Speech (here) adopted the vague wording “as soon as possible.“

In a statement given yesterday to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Morgan said: “I still think 2025 is absolutely.. it is very ambitious and we can’t deny that. I do think that actually we’re really ramping things up and it’s not just about money … I still use the phrase 2025 and so does the Prime Minister. I am very clear in the department, it is 2025 that we are aiming for.”

So there you have it, Boris Johnson (PM) might have decided to water down (here) his original focus on “full fibre” to adopt the broader “gigabit-capable” language (i.e. this adds in Hybrid Fibre Coax from Virgin Media and 5G or Fixed Wireless networks etc.), but at least the 2025 date hasn’t been changed. Of course actually achieving that target is still very difficult.