As part of a government-funded project, about 76,000 homes and businesses in rural Hampshire will have access to high-speed internet.

The £104 million project is a component of the £5 billion Project Gigabit initiative, which connects remote communities to gigabit-capable broadband.

January 2024 is when the first live connections are anticipated.

The “substantial investment” would “boost economic and social prosperity,” according to Hampshire County Council.

Residents and companies should be able to get quick broadband services once connected thanks to a network that can handle rates of up to 10Gbps.

CityFibre, a full fiber provider, has been awarded £318 million for the Hampshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk projects. In Hampshire, City Fibre will also invest £54 million of its own money. By March 2029, the project is anticipated to be finished in the area.

“Reliable, high-speed full-fibre broadband to areas that are not commercially viable,” Hampshire County Council leader Rob Humby stated. The government plans for 85% of the UK to have gigabit-capable connection by the end of 2025 and full coverage by 2030.

The initial goal was to roll out gigabit-speed internet to every home in Britain by 2025, but in November that goal was trimmed to 85% coverage. Only £1.2 billion of the budget’s $5 billion will be made accessible up to 2024. Homes and companies in Cambridgeshire, Tees Valley, South Tyneside, Northumberland, Durham, Cornwall, Essex, Cumbria, and Dorset will be among the first to benefit.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson described Project Gigabit as “the rocket boost that we need to get lightning-fast broadband to all areas of the country”.