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The investment will ensure that “every pupil can benefit from […] exciting digital experiences”, according to Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez
British incumbent BT has secured £26 million of government funding to provide hundreds of primary schools with gigabit broadband, as part of the UK government’s ‘Project Gigabit’ scheme.
Project Gigabit aims to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to at last 85% of UK premises by 2025 and the whole of the UK (about 99%) by 2030. The Project is backed by £5 billion in public and private funding, which is being gradually being allocated until 2030.
Within Project Gigabit is the Schools Gigabit Connectivity Project, an initiative aimed at ensuring every school in the country has access to “high speed internet” by 2025 using joint funding from the Department for Education and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
As part of this latest contract under this project, BT will connect over 650 primary schools with ‘lightning fast’ broadband connectivity.
The schools eligible for the scheme will be those difficult to reach under commercial broadband rollout schemes in both rural and urban environments.
“Access to high speed, reliable broadband is vital in the modern world and underpins so much of our daily lives,” said Ashish Gupta, Managing Director, Corporate and Public Sector at BT, in a statement.
“Nowhere is this more important than education. This investment will transform the learning experience for thousands of pupils, opening up opportunities for interactive lessons, collaborative projects with other schools and pupils anywhere in the world, as well access to an expanding online library of educational content and video,” he continued.
“Whether it’s through seamless access to digital resources or video streaming, this welcome investment will unlock new possibilities for hundreds of settings in rural and hard-to-reach areas, bringing ultra-fast broadband to those who wouldn’t otherwise have access to it,” said schools minister Baroness Barran.
BT will work with infrastructure supplier Openreach, to complete the broadband installation over the next few years, aiming to finish deployment at very school by December 2025.
Catch BT at this year’s Connected North – 22-23 April in Manchester – get your tickets now!
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