Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to roll out gigabit broadband (a) in Hampshire and (b) throughout the UK.

The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit capable connectivity as soon as possible. Much progress has already been made, with full fibre coverage doubling in the past year to reach 10% of UK premises.

This Government will continue to take action to remove barriers to network rollout and to ensure that those in the hardest to reach areas are not left behind. We have introduced legislation to make it easier for operators to deploy broadband in blocks of flats, will be legislating to mandate gigabit connectivity in new builds and will provide £5 billion of funding to support rollout in hard to reach areas.

Specifically in Hampshire, the government has invested heavily in this county, with over £15million of government funding allocated. Full fibre coverage stands at 9%, marginally below the UK figure of c.10%.

Virgin Media switched on full gigabit capability to Southampton in September 2019, whilst CityFibre, Toob and Trooli have all announced plans to invest in full fibre networks. Toob is aiming to cover 100,000 premises in Southampton with full fibre by the end of 2021, while Trooli has been undertaking work in the villages of Ropley and Bramdean.

The Government is also supporting deployment in Hampshire with projects in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight through the Local Full Fibre Networks programme.