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<p>The UK’s current ultrafast broadband coverage is currently low compared to European
counterparts however the UK is amongst the leaders of superfast broadband coverage,
ahead of Spain, France and Germany, thanks, in part, to over £1.8bn of public investment.</p><p>
</p><p>Superfast broadband, which is delivered through part-fibre part-copper networks,
meets the needs of most consumers today . However, it is full fibre networks that
will be needed to meet expected future demands with the focus not purely on speed,
but also resilience and reliability. The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review published
the Government’s targets for full fibre coverage.</p><p> </p><p>The last EU report
on broadband coverage had the UK at 26th of all Member States for full fibre at just
over 2% coverage. However, we have since started to increase deployment at pace and
our current full fibre coverage is 8% which represents almost 2.5 million homes and
businesses. Our target to reach 15 million premises by 2025 represents around half
of the homes and businesses in the UK. We are driving take-up and demand for full
fibre. Our £67 million Gigabit Voucher Scheme, launched in April 2018, provides small
grants for residents and small businesses to upgrade to a gigabit-capable connection,
and support the take up of faster services. Vouchers are also available under the
Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme, with higher values to reflect the greater costs
of connecting in rural and remote areas.</p><p><strong> </strong></p>
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