1Gbps broadband areas named: do you live in one?

The Government has named the first six areas to take part in trials of full-fibre broadband, which can reach speeds of 1Gbps (1,000Mbps) – fast enough to download films in seconds.

Aberdeenshire, West Sussex, Coventry and Warwickshire, Bristol and Bath & North East Somerset, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester will receive the technology, though a date hasn’t been announced.

The trials, which will cost £10m, are the first part of a £200m programme to stimulate the growth of the UK’S full-fibre broadband.

This kind of broadband, currently available to only two per cent of UK premises, is delivered on fibre cables directly to the door. This makes it much faster and reliable than fibre-to-the- cabinet (FTTC) broadband, in which slower copper cables take over from a streetside cabinet to deliver broadband to premises.

Businesses, schools and hospitals will test it first. Doctors could use it to share high-resolution images to help diagnosis; teachers could use it to stream educational videos.

The Government sees “world-class” broadband as vital to a successful economy. The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Jones MP, said: “How we live and work today is directly affected by how good our broadband connection is. Reliable connections enable new industries to flourish, help create jobs and give people flexibility in how they work”.

Broadband analysts point out that many different premises would share gigabit cables, slowing the speed from the 1Gbps maximum.

But the investment should see the UK climb the global broadband-speed table. Figures released in August showed that average speeds in the UK (16.5Mbps) are the 31st fastest in the world, behind poorer countries such as Bulgaria and Thailand (see the list at www.snipca.com/25247). At 16.5Mbps it takes around an hour to download a film.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the £200m fund in the Spring Budget as part of a £23 billion National Productivity Investment Fund to “raise living standards”.