Poor broadband infrastructure is costing the UK economy billions of pounds every year, it is estimated, as more people work from home, according to new research.
Nearly nine in 10 homeworkers (89%) experience IT problems while working remotely, the poll of 1,006 people found. In addition, 27% of those who experienced technical difficulties said they occurred “very” or “fairly” often, and 46% said it had a “very” or “fairly” stressful effect.
The report, conducted by Savanta ComRes, estimates the digital disruption costs the UK economy £60 billion per year – the equivalent of 3% of GDP. Examples of wasted time include video call dropouts, delays to online training, and lags while downloading vital documents.
James Salmon, Director of Sales and New Territories at Essex-based County Broadband, which is building multi-million-pound gigabit speed full-fibre broadband infrastructure in rural communities across the East of England following £146 million private investment from Aviva Investors, said:
“At a critical time for the UK when we need to unlock, support and drive growth for local businesses and people working from home, this new research is a timely reminder of the need to invest in full-fibre infrastructure and provide everyone, including in rural areas, with access to reliable networks and gigabit speeds.
“We are rapidly designing and delivering our full-fibre networks to thousands of rural and remote homes and businesses to help make our region a flagbearer for UK-leading digital infrastructure and turbocharge our local economies, but we know many are still suffering from ancient Victorian copper infrastructure that is unfit for both our current and future needs.
“The good news is that we’re committed to meeting our aim of providing hundreds of thousands of premises in rural communities with full-fibre access and all its transformational benefits by the end of 2027. We are actively working with local community leaders, as well as residents and businesses, and encourage people to use our online postcode checker to see if we can build in their area.”
The government has set a flagship target to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable speeds in the UK by 2030 to boost economic growth and is relying on local providers funded by private investment, such as County Broadband, to deliver its target.
Full-fibre broadband delivers fibre cables directly into premises to provide gigabit speeds (1,000 Mbps) that are around 11 times faster than the UK average and can be upgraded to 10,000+ Mbps in the future. Full-fibre broadband replaces fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) copper-based infrastructure on which ‘Superfast’ is based.
County Broadband, an Essex-based alternative network provider (alt-net) founded in 2003, is designing and building FTTP networks in over 250 villages in Norfolk, Essex, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire as part of a long-term commitment to digitally future-proof the region.
Earlier this year, County Broadband announced that it had secured a further £100 million in private investment from Aviva Investors to extend its full-fibre rollout towards its target of 500,000 rural premises in the East of England by the end of 2027. This has brought the total private investment to £146 million, following the £46m secured from Aviva Investors in 2018.
Residents and businesses can find out if they are included in County Broadband’s full-fibre rollout by using our Postcode Checker.
