Prime Minister visits Dorset to kick-start £5bn internet project
BORIS JOHNSON will attempt to cement his political legacy today with a visit to mark a £5billion superfast internet project.
Mr Johnson, who is in his final week as Prime Minister, will head to north Dorset on the first leg of a tour of Britain on the day the first contract is awarded under the Government’s Project Gigabit scheme.
Designed to target Red Wall and rural constituencies as part of his levellingup agenda, the programme aims to offer 85 per cent of UK homes the fastest possible broadband by 2025.
The first Project Gigabit contract, worth £6million, has been awarded by Dorset Council to Wessex Internet, and will seek to service more than 7,000 homes with poor internet access.
It is hoped that outlying rural parts of the region will be covered by 2025 and that the first home will be connected by the end of the year.
The announcement comes as new data from Thinkbroadband, an independent website, suggested that the number of homes able to access the fastest and most reliable internet connections had increased 10-fold since Mr Johnson entered office in 2019.
Mr Johnson said: “From Sherbourne to Stirling, lightning-fast broadband is levelling up towns and villages across the country. In just three years we have increased the coverage of gigabit broadband from 7 per cent of households to 70 per cent.
“And I am proud that today more than 20million households, businesses and organisations are able to tap into rapid and reliable internet, unleashing their potential, creating opportunities and driving growth across the country.”
Nadine Dorries, the Digital Secretary, said today’s announcement would ensure “those living in rural areas can enjoy 21st-century speeds in the home and workplace – making their lives easier and more productive”.
A senior source told The Sun on Sunday that Mr Johnson would be “out and about basically every day” this week, demonstrating his achievements to voters and “laying the groundwork” for Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak to take over.