Delivering UK-wide Connectivity and Opportunities through Project Gigabit
Author WIG Date 21 Apr 2023
Join us for this panel discussion exploring how greater digital connectivity can deliver opportunities for communities across the UK. With speakers including Andrew Field, Programme Director for Project Gigabit, Building Digital UK.
With over £5 billion pledged by the government to deliver lightning-fast broadband to rural and remote communities, Project Gigabit is set to help level up hard-to-reach areas of the UK.
WIG is delighted to convene this cross-sector panel of experts to discuss how gigabit connectivity will provide access to greater opportunities for those in often left-behind communities.
Catch up on this briefing to;
- Explore the timeline for Project Gigabit, and understand the priorities of the delivery team
- Uncover how organisations are collaborating on the project to not only deliver faster broadband, but to upskill and develop the capability of its users
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Speakers at the Event
Andrew has been the Programme Director for Project Gigabit since February 2021, and has responsibility for overall programme delivery and for the BDUK team of local delivery managers.
He was previously in BDUK from 2011 to 2018 as the Programme Director for the Superfast Broadband Programme, responsible for extending superfast broadband coverage to 95% of UK premises by the end of 2017. He was also the BDUK lead for a period for the 700MHz Clearance Programme, working with Ofcom and other partners to clear the 700MHz spectrum for mobile telecoms. Between 2018 and 2021 he was the DCMS Programme Director for the 2022 Commonwealth Games programme, including setting up the Games Organising Committee, getting the Games capital projects under way, and establishing the Games security programme.
Andrew has previously worked in a number of government departments including HM Treasury, Environment, and Business on policy and delivery in areas including energy and climate change, environmental taxation, European economic reform, and local and regional economic development. He also spent several years in industry in the early part of his career.
William is Head of Policy at Openreach, having joined the business in 2022. Prior to this, he was leading stakeholder engagement with parliamentarians on the HS2 line of route, supporting the delivery of the major new infrastructure.
He began his career in Brussels, working for MEPs and then went on to work centrally and regionally for major UK national campaigns in a variety of elections throughout the 2010s. In his spare time, William is an active campaigner and a deputy chairman of his local political party, running the local elections for his London Borough.