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The UK Government has published their annual New Year Honours List for 2026, which this time saw Matt Agar, Strategy Director for the government’s Building Digital UK agency within DSIT, being named an “Officer of the Order of the British Empire” for “services to Digital Infrastructure and Broadband“.
The King’s New Year Honours list is said to recognise the achievements and public service of people across the UK, from all walks of life. Anyone can nominate someone for an honour, and nominees are then “checked by various government departments to make sure they’re suitable for an honour” (this may include checks by HMRC) and an honour’s committee will also review the nominations.
So far as we could see, Matt seems to be the only one from the broadband and mobile sector to receive an honour this year. In case anybody has forgotten, BDUK has responsibility for delivering gigabit broadband and better mobile connectivity across the nation (e.g. the £5bn Project Gigabit scheme) and Matt has long played a key role in helping to run it.