New telecoms minister promises 99% gigabit coverage by 2032 in first speech
Ian Murray's first speech as telecoms minister recommitted the government to 99% gigabit coverage by 2032 — and ordered Ofcom to review the broadband safety net.
The UK’s new telecoms minister, Ian Murray, made his first outing in the role at the Connected Britain conference in London’s ExCeL on 9 September — and his message to rural Britain was one of continuity: gigabit broadband now reaches 88% of premises, Project Gigabit contracts are signed across the whole of the UK, and the target of 99% coverage by 2032 still stands.
The speech, published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 15 September, puts the current numbers at over 1.4 million premises connected through BDUK subsidies — around 310,000 of them since July 2024. The government also pointed to its new online checker, launched earlier this year, so households can see when their upgrade is due.
The rural examples
Rather than dwell on national percentages, Murray reached for rural specifics. In Cornwall, St Keverne Parish Hall now runs full fibre delivered with altnet Wildanet — a rural village venue turned digital hub, supporting community events and local businesses. Meanwhile altnets are delivering the contracted builds — GoFibre is pushing its £105m Project Gigabit contract into six more North East villages. On the island of Islay in western Scotland, a new mast is delivering reliable 4G to residents and businesses for the first time. And on mobile, the government says it has now built or upgraded over 150 masts, bringing 4G to thousands of square kilometres that previously had zero signal.
The part that matters most to us: the Ofcom review
Buried mid-speech is the bit with real consequences for the worst-connected households. The minister confirmed the government is directing Ofcom to review the Broadband Universal Service Obligation — the legal safety net that guarantees the right to request a decent broadband connection — alongside reviews of spectrum access and sector needs for the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy.
That matters because the final few percent of premises are the expensive, difficult ones, and the USO is the only backstop guaranteeing they get something. Ofcom’s own data has the final number of premises with no decent fixed or fixed-wireless connection at around 39,000, falling to roughly 4,000 once affordable satellite is counted.
Other commitments in the speech:
- Barrier-busting: measures in the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill for multi-dwelling units, planning system reforms, and implementing the PSTI Act to speed up land agreements.
- Mobile markets: findings from the Mobile Markets Review call for evidence by the end of 2026.
- Security: a forthcoming public consultation on protecting subsea cables, and work toward a sovereign UK cable repair capability.
- Innovation: £140 million awarded to UK telecoms innovators since April, including 6G and resilient-network research.
What it means for rural readers
For rural households, the headline commitments are unchanged from the previous minister: keep funding Project Gigabit, tear down the barriers that slow builds, and hit 99% by 2032. The genuine new signal is the USO review — if you’re in that final few thousand premises with no decent connection, this is the review that decides what “enough” looks like, and it’s worth watching closely. Catch up on the rest of the week’s developments in our weekly roundup.
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