Local authorities can now bid for funding from a new £190m programme designed to accelerate the rate at which Full Fibre networks are made available across the UK.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport yesterday launched the Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) Challenge Fund to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks across the whole of the UK.

The idea behind the fund is to encourage local bodies to develop approaches which, in turn, might encourage additional private investment by making sustainable commercial deployments viable.

‘World class connectivity is increasingly essential to people at work and at home,’ said the minister for digital, Matt Hancock.

‘It’s vital to ensure the UK’s future competitiveness in the global market and our ability to attract investment. Full fibre is fundamental for fashioning a Britain fit for the future.’