In the Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged £400m for funding faster broadband as part of a new Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund. Private investors will also be asked to match this amount. Hammond is also set to announce £740m for the development of 5G and the future rollout of fibre connections. The government has already announced that it plans to spend an extra £2bn on high-speed rail in England by 2025, with more than half going towards HS2. The new fund is part of the government’s plans to increase the amount of people who have access to a “full fibre” connection—a figure that currently stands at 2%.
In the Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged £400m for funding faster broadband as part of a new Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund. Private investors will also be asked to match this amount. Hammond is also set to announce £740m for the development of 5G and the future rollout of fibre connections. There is no launch date for the 5G service yet. The new fund is part of the government’s plans to increase the amount of people who have access to a “full fibre” connection—a figure that currently stands at 2%.