Digital infrastructure in the spotlight in Hammond’s Budget
“We are building the foundations of a stronger, fairer, more global Britain,” said Chancellor Philip Hammond at the launch of his first, and last, Spring Budget.
One of these building blocks is infrastructure, and investing in it will enable the UK to close the productivity gap with other G7 countries he said.
“Investment in training, and investment in infrastructure, will start to close this gap and this government places addressing the UK’s productivity challenge at the very heart of its economic plan,” Hammond said.
The Government had already announced a £23bn investment in infrastructure in the Autumn Statement, and in this Budget, Hammond did not go too much further.
He focused on Northern infrastructure in this Budget, announcing £90m for the North and £23m for the Midlands from a £220m fund that plans to address “pinch-points” on the national road network, whilst a Midlands will be hearing more on “barriers to productivity” tomorrow at the launch of the Midlands Engine Strategy.
Hammond also launched a £690m competition for local authorities across England to tackle urban congestion and “get local transport networks moving again”.
In support of digital infrastructure, he announced £16m for a new 5G mobile technology hub, and £200m for local projects to leverage private sector investment in full-fibre broadband networks.
Andrew Coticelli, tax partner for Deloitte, in Yorkshire commented: “The commitment to invest £16m in a 5G hub will be welcome news for the telecommunications industry and will help provide the building blocks for the UK to be 5G ready.
“In the near-term 5G will support narrow-band IOT, a technology that can communicate with buried monitors for up to 10 years. This enables utilities to monitor flow in pipes, reducing the chance of burst water mains, potentially saving the economy millions per year in delays and repairs. 5G will also support fixed wireless access, providing a broadband connection to the house over the air. This will allow us to push out 100mbps broadband to those not served by current technology, and create a more competitive environment. It may even allow us to get rid of overhead phone wires.
“5G technology will cost billions of pounds to develop, and will create tens of billions of pounds for the UK economy. A small investment now can go a long way to positioning the UK at the very centre of global 5G investment.
“With each wave of technology, new and immediately essential services for productivity and entertainment are created. 5G is an amazing technology that will put the UK at the front of the race to the digital future.”
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