Areas in Kent targeted for £112m faster broadband project
BDUK has awarded broadband provider Cityfibre a Project Gigabit contract in Kent
Building Digital UK has awarded supplier Cityfibre a £112 million contract to provide around 50,000 hard-to-reach premises in Kent with access to gigabit-capable broadband.
It is part of a government rollout and will target homes in rural areas including around Ashford, Canterbury, Medway and Sheppey.
Project Gigabit is the government’s flagship £5 billion programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband.
It hopes to target homes and businesses that are not included in broadband suppliers’ plans, reaching parts of the UK that might otherwise miss out on getting the digital connectivity they need.
Ministers said the project would give households access to speeds of 1,000Mbps, or megabits per second.
Internet speeds across the UK average about 73Mbps.
BDUK and Kent County Council will work collaboratively with the supplier on ensuring that network build commences as quickly as possible, once the supplier has completed their detailed plans for this build.
Below is a map of the areas due to be upgraded in the awarded Kent contract.
The government said it wanted 85% of the population to have access to gigabit broadband by 2025, with the whole country benefiting from the same speed by 2030.
It has not published details of which premises will benefit, or when the connections will be installed.