English broadband bonanzas unveiled

The government has published the final allocations of broadband funding to be made available to councils across England, as part of its £530m scheme to upgrade the UK’s broadband network.

In total, English counties will receive £294.8m, with a further £68.8m set aside for Scotland. The Scottish government will decide how that pot is allocated among its regions.

Devon and Somerset are to be allocated the most money out the English regions, with more than £32m set to be invested in broadband in the region. Councils in Greater London will not get a penny, as they are presumed to be already well served by existing providers.

Investment in super-fast broadband was “vital to our economic growth”, said culture secretary Jeremy Hunt.

“But some areas of the UK are missing out, with many rural and hard-to-reach communities suffering painfully slow internet connections or no coverage at all. We are not prepared to let some parts of our country get left behind in the digital age.”

A full break down of allocations in England can be found here.

The government had previously confirmed the amounts being given to other areas, including Northern Ireland and Wales.