Broadband set for potential £66bn boost to UK economy

A report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and Stantec has put a number on exactly what could be gained from the ongoing upgrades to full-fibre broadband by the UK’s leading provider, Openreach, namely as much as £66bn by 2029 in gross value added (GVA), as well as helping more than 620,000 individuals back into work.

The report gives a detailed overview of the social and economic benefits the network will deliver over the next five and 10 years, including the GVA contribution – with productivity and workforce boosts set to total £73bn per year by 2034 – predicting an increase in pass rates for key subjects across UK schools, as well as greater availability of GP appointments and reduced CO2 emissions.

The infrastructure upgrade is expected to drive productivity gains and improvements to public services, including supporting more than 620,000 people back into the workforce. It’s also attributed with enabling more than a million people to work from home, contributing an additional £19bn annually.

Other key findings include supporting an estimated five million online appointments by 2029 to help meet rising healthcare demands, doubling the current number, and a boost to pass rates for 21,700 students in key subjects.

Openreach also believes homes with full-fibre see an average increase of £1,900, and that by 2029, 1.4 million more home workers will mean fewer car journeys and lower carbon emissions.

Full-fibre will help underpin further adoption of digital tools to help to reduce waiting times, reduce GP workloads and drive innovations. 

Drilling deeper into education, the study observes that online learning tools have been widely adopted in schools across the UK, enhanced by necessity through the pandemic.

Based on existing roll-out and future plans, Openreach said the research shows that over 13,000 more pupils (1% of the total number of Key Stage 2 students) could achieve pass rates that are higher than Key Stage 2 maths, reading and writing as a result of the increase in full-fibre connectivity between 2023 and 2029.

It added that more than 8,700 more pupils (1% of the total number of Key Stage 4 students) could achieve pass rates that are higher as a result of the increase in full-fibre connectivity between 2023 and 2029.

“Our new full-fibre network is a growth and prosperity engine,” said Openreach CEO Clive Selley. “This report highlights how it will create jobs, enhance connectivity and drive economic improvements across each nation of the UK, but continued investment depends on a stable policy and regulatory environment.”

Full-fibre is also attributed with revolutionising healthcare access, exemplified by platforms such as eConsult, which facilitates online GP interactions for more than 50 million patients. Such platforms, said Openreach, were at the forefront of technological transformation for the healthcare industry.

“The roll-out of full-fibre enables every single patient, wherever they are, to access their GP online,” said eConsult CEO Murray Ellender.