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UK hits its 95 percent ‘superfast’ broadband coverage target
'Superfast' broadband with speeds of at least 24 Mbps is now available across 95 percent of the UK, according to new stats thinkbroadband.com published today. The milestone was actually achieved last month, meaning the government's Broadband Delivery UK initiative (BDUK) actually completed on time, in 2017. Superfast coverage in Northern Ireland sits at 86.7 percent, while the corresponding figures in Scotland and Wales hover just below 95 percent. Take into account England's overachieving and it averages out to a hair above the magic number. We're talking population/premises coverage here, of course, not geographic coverage.
European Commission clears Broadband Delivery UK initiative
Britain has had grand visions of supplying broadband to virtually every home through its Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) initiative, but the lack of EU approval has put a large part of that plan on ice. Consider the European Commission's latest move a thaw, then. It just confirmed that BDUK is legal within EU rules on state aid through the measures to keep it honest, such as top-level advice to regional planners and Ofcom control over the costs and terms of any given rollout. The clearance lets a raft of projects get underway, and should ideally supply services like BT Infinity to 90 percent of the UK as well as a minimum 2Mbps for the rest; given that many BDUK providers have had to wait until now to get started, though, we wouldn't anticipate fast internet access in the boonies just yet.
