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The government has today revealed that their £5bn Project Gigabit programme, which aims to help extend gigabit broadband (1000Mbps+) ISP networks to “nationwide” coverage (c.99% of UK premises) by 2032, has created “more than 3,000 jobs and apprenticeships” in England (e.g. engineers, support staff etc.).
Some 91% of UK premises can already access such a network today (here) and Ofcom are forecasting this could reach up to 95% by January 2029 (here), although it’s worth noting that most of that has been delivered by commercial builds. The Project Gigabit scheme has been more focused on tackling the hardest-to-reach final 10-20% of premises, where commercial builds often struggle with economic viability.
From jobs on the ground in the most rural parts of the country, to office-based roles in finance, operations and other professions, new figures from broadband suppliers released today show the government’s national broadband upgrade has supported skilled roles across the telecoms sector. But sadly we don’t get any figures for other parts of the UK.