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Written question asked by John Hayes (Conservative) on Monday, 27 October 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 October 2025. It was answered by Kanishka Narayan (Labour) on Tuesday, 4 November 2025 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps she has taken to improve access to full fibre broadband in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural communities.

Answer

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, almost 82% of premises across Lincolnshire can access a gigabit-capable connection, we aim to get that to 99% by 2032. To extend connectivity further, Quickline is delivering a Project Gigabit contract across Lincolnshire and East Riding, which is currently expected to provide access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection to approximately 30,000 premises within Lincolnshire. A further contract with CityFibre is planned to benefit premises in West Lincolnshire as well as within Nottinghamshire.

As of the end of March 2025, over 1.2 million premises in rural and hard to reach communities across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes. More than one million further premises have been included within contracts to provide access to gigabit-capable broadband, with funding of over £2.4 billion through Project Gigabit. Almost all of this coverage will be delivered via fibre to the premises.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
85087
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Broadband Rural areas Optical fibres
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk