Work has begun on the first major contract under the UK Government’s £5-billion Project Gigabit broadband roll out.

Under the contract, 7,000 hard-to-reach premises struggling with slow speeds will be connected under a £6-million contract awarded by the government to Wessex Internet. The first home will be connected by the end of the year, with an expected completion date for all by 2025.

The project will cover the rural outskirts of towns, villages and hamlets across the region from Sherborne to Verwood and Shaftesbury to Blandford Forum.

The project comes as new data show 70% of the UK’s homes and businesses have access to gigabit broadband, up from 7% in 2019.

According to independent website ThinkBroadband, gigabit coverage is now available to around 20 million premises connected. The last five months have seen one million premises connected to gigabit networks.

The government has set a target to provide 85% of the UK’s premises with gigabit broadband coverage by 2025.

Project Gigabit aims to increase the speed and reliability of the UK broadband infrastructure. It aims to provide gigabit-speed broadband, up to 1,000 megabits per second, thirty times faster than copper-based superfast broadband.

With remote working still popular post-pandemic, and in-demand by many workers, improving the UK’s internet infrastructure is vital to promoting a more flexible workforce. In addition, higher speeds will help enable to advantages offered by 5G, the Internet of Things, and virtual and augmented reality.

The new contract follows the announcement of plans to connect more than 2,600 hard-to-reach premises in Scotland to gigabit speeds as part of a £36m investment with the Scottish Government. The expansion of the R100 network includes a £16m boost from Project Gigabit.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “From Sherbourne to Stirling, lightning-fast broadband is levelling up towns and villages across the country.

“In just three years we have increased the coverage of gigabit broadband from seven per cent of households to 70%, and I am proud that today more than 20 million households, businesses and organisations are able to tap into rapid and reliable internet, unleashing their potential, creating opportunities and driving growth across the country.”

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In addition, the Wessex Internet connection marks the start of a series of new Project Gigabit delivery contracts to be awarded over the coming months.

As part of the programme, the Government has already launched procurements totalling over £690m aiming to cover up to 498,000 premises, with work due to begin to connect hard-to-reach areas in Cornwall, Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, and several areas across Northeast England before the end of the year.

Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Today we enter an exciting new phase of our £5 billion Project Gigabit digital connectivity programme by signing our first major contract in Dorset. Thousands of hard-to-reach homes and businesses in the region will get access to faster connections and join the 20 million properties we’ve helped connect over the last three years.

“The benefits of better broadband connectivity cannot be underestimated and this work will mean those living in rural areas can enjoy 21st century speeds in the home and workplace, making their lives easier and more productive.”

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