North East set for pilot of UK's fastest broadband

The first stage of testing the UK's fastest and most reliable broadband will begin today across some of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Some businesses, schools and hospitals will be participating as part of six pilots across the country which test the connection with the aim of ensuring the transition into the next generation of broadband go smoothly.

With the aim of stimulating digital infrastructure, this marks the start of the government’s four year plan to keep up with technological advances.

The £200 million scheme aims to connect offices and public sector buildings with the next generation of broadband.

West Sussex, Coventry and Warwickshire, Bristol, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester will also participate.

Each project gets around £10 million to test new ways to connect public sector buildings to broadband using Full Fibre networks that run fibre connections straight to the doors of homes and businesses with speeds of one gigabit.

The multimillion-pound investment was unveiled by the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, at Spring Budget, as part of the government’s plan to stimulate the electronic market and encourage the development of full fibre across the nation.

The exchequer secretary to the treasury, Andrew Jones MP said: ““For our economy to thrive, it is vital we make smart investments to ensure our digital infrastructure is world class and fit for the future.

“Full fibre connections are the gold standard and we are proud to announce today the next step to get Britain better connected.”

Minister of state for digital, Matt Hancock MP also commented: “To keep Britain as the digital world leader that it is, we need to have the right infrastructure in place to allow us to keep up with the rapid advances in technology now and in the future."

The cutting-edge technology will make internet access more secure and enable more people to work remotely without disruption.

It could also: allow hospitals to share HD quality graphics of medical scans to improve the speed of diagnosis; help businesses reach a wider customer base, increasing transactions by uploading large files quickly and; enabling multiple pupils to stream educational videos simultaneously in schools.

The scheme comes after the creation of the Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund and new legislation to enable business rates relief for new fibre.