Evaluation of the Economic Impact and Public Value of the Superfast Broadband Programme

Ipsos, Simetrica, George Barrett and Dr. Pantelis Koutroumpis, London School of Economics, were commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to undertake the Evaluation of the Economic Impact and Public Value of the Superfast Broadband Programme. 

The Superfast Broadband Programme, announced in 2010/11, was initially backed by £530m of public funding, with the aim of extending superfast coverage to 90 percent of UK premises by early 2016. The programme was expanded in 2015, with a further £250m made available to extend coverage to 95 percent of premises by the end of 2017.

The evaluation linked DCMS data on the rollout of superfast broadband connections with Ofcom, ONS and DWP data to estimate the impact of the programme on the digital divide, local economic growth and personal wellbeing. The study also included a programme of research into the public value of superfast broadband incorporating a quantitative survey with residents in areas with access to superfast speeds as well as those with no such access. This was supplemented with in-depth interviews with the public on the uses of broadband.

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