Britain to start connecting first 1 million premises in rural broadband push

LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Britain said more than one
million rural homes and businesses would get gigabit broadband
in the first phase of a 5 billion pound ($7 billion) programme
to connect places that commercial roll-outs by BT and its rivals
would not reach.

Up to 510,000 premises in Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Cumbria,
Dorset, Durham, Essex, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Tees
Valley will be the first to benefit, it said on Friday, with
building due to start in the first half of 2022.

Up to 640,000 premises in Norfolk, Shropshire, Suffolk,
Worcestershire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, will be the
next in the plan, called 'Project Gigabit'.

Areas in central Scotland were also recently allocated
funding, it said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants Britain to catch up with
European rivals that have full-fibre networks. Nearly two in
five households now have access to gigabit broadband, up from
one in 10 in 2019, the government said.

In a separate project, BT said on Thursday it would connect
20 million premises by the mid to late 2020s after the regulator
set out the conditions needed for its 12 billion pound
investment.

Project Gigabit is aimed at the hardest to reach areas where
commercial fibre networks would not be viable.

"This broadband revolution will fire up people's businesses
and homes, and the vital public services that we all rely on, so
we can continue to level up and build back better from this
pandemic," Johnson said.

Contracts to provide the services are still be awarded. BT
said it was keen to support the government, and its rivals
CityFibre and Gigaclear said they were also interested in taking
part.

"As the nation's largest independent full fibre platform,
with a build programme underway to a third of the UK market,
CityFibre is ready to extend our network even further to reach
rural communities," said CityFibre chief executive Greg Mesch.

"We look forward to participating in this important
programme to ensure no one is left behind."

($1 = 0.7173 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Jan Harvey)