Broadband: Rural Areas
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking through the Building Digital UK programme to improve broadband access in rural areas; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of progress towards achieving universal gigabit-capable coverage in communities most at risk of digital exclusion.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan
Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans.
According to the independent website, Thinkbroadband.com, 89% of premises in the UK already have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection. To extend this further and achieve our goal of 99% coverage by 2032, more than £2.4 billion of Project Gigabit contracts have already been signed to connect over one million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband.
These are premises that fall predominantly in rural areas, many of which may otherwise be at risk of digital exclusion due to lack of access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection via commercial delivery.
Building Digital UK (BDUK) reports on delivery progress through its annual report and quarterly official statistics. The latest annual report was published on 23 October 2025.
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