•Openreach to bring full-fibre broadband to 1.1 million homes across 542 Project Gigabit lots
•Gigabit-capable broadband reaches 22.5 million UK premises, extending to remote and hard-to-reach areas
The fact
Openreach has been awarded contracts for 542 lots under the UK government's Project Gigabit, which will see the company bring full-fibre broadband to 1.1 million homes across the UK. The deployments will cover all 12 nations and regions of the UK, including remote and hard-to-reach areas such as the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
The government said Project Gigabit has now reached 22.5 million UK premises with gigabit-capable broadband, and expects to hit 25 million by the end of 2026. Openreach said it is already building out the 542 lots, with the remaining sites expected to be completed by March 2028.
The assessment
Project Gigabit is a government-subsidised programme to connect areas that commercial fibre rollouts have not reached. Openreach winning 542 lots in a single award shows both the scale of the UK's broadband push and the challenge of connecting the last mile in remote locations. For BTW readers, this matters because Openreach's deployment strategy determines which underserved communities get fibre first, while alternative network operators continue to compete in more profitable urban areas. The March 2028 completion target also creates a hard deadline for connecting the hardest-to-reach premises. The programme highlights the tension between commercial viability and universal coverage targets that governments face when subsidising broadband infrastructure.
What to watch
Watch how quickly Openreach delivers the 542 lots across remote UK regions. Progress against the March 2028 deadline will show whether government-subsidised broadband can realistically reach the hardest-to-reach premises, and how alternative network operators respond to the remaining coverage gaps.