3,660 Gigabit Broadband Connections Created by UK Gov Vouchers

It’s nearly a year since the Government launched their £67m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which offers up to £2,500 to help businesses and homes gain access to a 1Gbps capable connection. The latest data reveals that this has helped to create a total of 3,660 connections (value of £8,756,443).

The GBVS scheme was originally launched in March 2018 as part of the Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme (here). Broadly this complemented the Government’s ambition for making 1Gbps+ (Gigabits per second) capable “full fibre” broadband ISP services available to at least 10 million UK premises by 2022, rising to 15 million in 2025 and there’s an aspiration to achieve “nationwide” coverage by the end of 2033.

Under this approach vouchers worth up to £2,500 a pop are offered to businesses in order to help them get a new connection installed (leased lines, FTTP etc.), while residents are offered up to £500. GBVS is clearly more business orientated and the only way for residents to benefit is as part of a local community group, which must include small businesses (i.e. up to 10 homes can participate for every one SME).

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has now informed ISPreview.co.uk that a total of 3,660 connections with a value of £8,756,443 have so far been created by the scheme, which includes 3,162 for businesses (£8,507,443) and 498 for residential (£249,000). A new video has also been released to help explain and promote the scheme.

The scheme was initially expected to run until March 2021, but at the end of last year the Government revealed that “high demand” had meant the funding was at risk of drying up a year, or possibly even sooner, than originally expected (i.e. early 2020). In response they reduced the maximum value of each voucher from £3,000 to £2,500 and encouraged “neighbouring businesses to ‘pool’ their vouchers” (here).

To date, demand for the scheme has been strongest in the South West, followed by the South East, Yorkshire and the North West of England. London follows close behind, while Wales and Scotland sit nearer the bottom of the table (largely due to them being more rural and less metropolitan). You can see a pin map of where all the vouchers have been issued so far below.

Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS)
https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk