The Government has revealed which cities are eligible to apply to be one of the UK's "super-connected" areas.
London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are certain to benefit from boosted BT and Virgin infrastructure, expected to deliver 80-100Mbps broadband speeds.
Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester and Sheffield, as well as any city with over 150,000 dwellings are all eligible to apply. They have until 13 February to show how they would use their status as a super-connected city to boost business, particularly SMEs.
We must ensure the UK has a broadband network fit for the digital age.
The announcement follows Chancellor George Osborne's revelation in the autumn statement that up to 10 cities would share a 100 million pot to boost broadband. Now 14 cities could get funding.
"We must ensure the UK has a broadband network fit for the digital age," said culture secretary Jeremy Hunt.
"Transforming communities into super-connected cities will enable them to compete with the world's top digital cities. It will help them attract new jobs and new investment and make the UK a place where digital businesses look to come."
The successful applicants will be announced in the Budget in March. Money allocated to each city will be announced in July.
Guidance for bidders can be found here.
BT welcomed the announcement, saying it was a "helpful development."
"BT is already upgrading large parts of these cities with fibre broadband and these funds could help us go even further," the company said.
"It's important for the public and private sector to work together if the UK is to have the best possible broadband network, so we look forward to working with the selected cities to see what can be achieved."
Earlier this month, BT announced another 178 additional fibre exchanges, covering 1.8 million homes and businesses.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolenNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
Lateral moves in tech: Why leaders should support employee mobilityIn-depth Encouraging staff to switch roles can have long-term benefits for skills in the tech sector
-
Starmer bets big on AI to unlock public sector savingsNews AI adoption could be a major boon for the UK and save taxpayers billions, according to prime minister Keir Starmer.
-
UK government targets ‘startup’ mindset in AI funding overhaulNews Public sector AI funding will be overhauled in the UK in a bid to simplify processes and push more projects into development.
-
Optimise CX and accelerate business growth through your voice networkwhitepaper Protecting the human experience in a digital world
-
UK government signs up Anthropic to improve public servicesNews The UK government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Anthropic to explore how the company's Claude AI assistant could be used to improve access to public services.
-
US government urged to overhaul outdated technologyNews A review from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found legacy technology and outdated IT systems are negatively impacting efficiency.
-
UK financial services firms are scrambling to comply with DORA regulationsNews Lack of prioritization and tight implementation schedules mean many aren’t compliant
-
Government urged to improve tech procurement practicesNews The National Audit Office highlighted wasted money and a lack of progress on major digital transformation programmes
-
Government says new data bill will free up millions of hours of public sector timeNews The UK government is proposing new data laws it says could free up millions of hours of police and NHS time every year and boost the UK economy by £10 billion.
