The Autumn Budget has received a mixed response from the Channel.
In her statement delivered in Parliament on Wednesday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves pledged to provide “over £500m of funding next year” aimed at “improving reliable fast broadband and mobile coverage" across the UK, including in rural areas.
She said, “With over £500 million of funding next year, my right honourable friend for science, technology and innovation secretary [Peter Kyle] will continue to drive progress in improving reliable fast broadband and mobile coverage across our country, including in rural areas.”
This follows the previous government establishing two major investment initiatives for broadband and mobile network improvement. The £1 billion Shared Rural Network project is designed to improve 4G mobile coverage to reach 95 per cent of the UK geographically by the end of next year. The £5 billion Project Gigabit scheme has brought 1Gbps+ broadband speeds to at least 85 per cent of UK premises and is targeting nationwide coverage by 2030.
The Internet Services Providers’ Association UK head of public affairs, Andrew Kernahan, welcomed the news of the investment, saying, "Broadband rollout has been a UK success story in recent years, with gigabit-speed coverage available across 85 per cent of the country, alongside 70 per cent full-fibre availability. Primarily driven by billions of pounds of private investment from a range of operators in recent years, government investment has nonetheless been crucial in accelerating this programme.
"We welcome today's news from the Chancellor that £500 million of public investment will continue to fund underserved areas in the next year, helping communities experience the transformative benefits of gigabit broadband. The original funding for Project Gigabit was up to £5 billion and there is around £2 billion yet to be spent - it is important that the government continues to commit to future funding to meet its target of full gigabit broadband coverage by 2030."
Nathan Vautier, CEO of Freedom Fibre, added, "Freedom Fibre welcomes the Chancellor’s announcement to free up the budget for vital infrastructure spending.
“Geography should not be a defining factor in the continued rollout of gigabit full-fibre broadband across the UK. Not only does it help to future-proof local communities for decades to come, but it also ensures that equality of opportunity is available to all, especially those in rural areas.
“Access to faster broadband helps to promote long-term economic growth and boosts our local economies. This long-term economic security is crucial to ensuring that no part of the country is left behind.
“The rollout of gigabit full-fibre represents one of the largest and arguably one of the most important infrastructure projects currently in the UK, of which Freedom Fibre is proud to be part of."
However, concerns were also raised by business leaders about the impact that the £40 billion in tax rises announced in the Budget, £25 billion of which will be incurred by business, will have on their companies. In particular, the increase in national insurance contributions (NICs) from employers from 1.2 per cent to 15 per cent and the threshold at which NIC becomes payable falling steeply to £5,000 from £9,100 is of big concern.
"Today’s budget announcement is going to force businesses to tighten the grip on their finances, which in turn translates to increased scrutiny of investments in both time and money,” said Sheldon Lachambre, director of engineering at DoiT, who said that companies will be looking more closely at the ROI on their investments as a result. “Therefore, I imagine a key theme we are going to see as businesses close Q4 and begin to plan for 2025 is: ‘What is the return on investment of this initiative?’
“The challenge lies not just in adapting to these new tax measures, but in ensuring that every pound spent is accounted for, with as little waste as possible. This is especially the case when it comes to cloud waste: in 2024 we will see billions of pounds wasted globally.
“Yes, the fiscal constraints of today’s budget will pose a challenge to business operations, but organisations can monitor and reduce cloud waste and inefficiency by adopting a strategic approach to financial management. That starts by prioritising full visibility across technology stacks. This is the only way organisations can adapt their operations to the challenges of this budget to streamline operations, enhance productivity, and position themselves to thrive as we prepare for 2025.”
Tom O’Hagan, executive chairman of PlatformX Communications, posted on LinkedIn, “Well now that’s out of the way can we all get on with building brilliant businesses in the best country in the world.”