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<p>Overall, the UK's broadband network has stood up well to mass home working and
leisure usage as a result of COVID-19, including in rural areas. This is a result
of the contingency planning that the Government has done with industry and also the
Government's £1.7 billion superfast broadband programme, which has ensured that 96%
of UK premises have access to superfast broadband.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>However,
the Government recognises that rural coverage lags behind the rest of the UK, which
is why we legislated to create the first-ever broadband Universal Service Obligation,
which went live in March 2020. The scheme allows everyone in the UK to request a decent
broadband connection of at least 10 megabits per second from a designated universal
service provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>At
Budget, we also committed to invest £5 billion to roll out gigabit broadband in the
hardest to reach areas of the UK. At present, our £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity
programme remains open, offering voucher-based support for eligible consumers to request
gigabit-capable connections from a variety of providers.</p><p> </p>
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