A resurgence in inflation, even one that is very modest compared to what we saw during the Ukraine, war risks hitting spending, growth and pushing up unemployment further – especially so if greater price pressures derail the chances of further interest rate cuts.

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The UK government has unveiled a new online tool designed to help households and businesses track the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband across the country, offering greater transparency over when faster connectivity will reach local communities.

The new address checker allows users to enter their postcode and see whether their property is scheduled to receive an upgrade through the government’s Project Gigabit programme or through separate commercial full-fibre deployments. Officials say the tool is intended to provide rural communities and businesses with clearer visibility of broadband infrastructure plans, particularly in areas where connectivity improvements have historically been slow.

The launch forms part of the government’s wider effort to accelerate the delivery of high-speed broadband across the UK, with particular emphasis on rural and hard-to-reach regions that have traditionally struggled with poor digital infrastructure.

According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, more than 750 homes and businesses are now gaining access to gigabit-capable broadband every day through Project Gigabit. The programme is designed to deliver full-fibre connectivity to areas that are unlikely to be served by commercial investment alone.

Officials estimate that more than one million additional premises will benefit from live government contracts currently being rolled out across rural England and Wales. These include major infrastructure agreements with broadband providers aimed at expanding fibre networks into remote towns, villages and agricultural communities.

The government argues that improving digital connectivity is critical to supporting economic development outside major cities. Faster broadband access is expected to enable remote working, improve access to digital public services and strengthen sectors such as agriculture, tourism and rural small businesses.

However, campaigners warn that improving infrastructure alone will not eliminate the UK’s digital divide.

Elizabeth Anderson, chief executive of the Digital Poverty Alliance, said that while expanding gigabit broadband coverage is an important milestone, affordability remains a major barrier for millions of people.

“The continued rollout of gigabit-capable broadband and improved mobile coverage in rural communities is a welcome step towards closing long-standing connectivity gaps across the UK,” she said.

“However, infrastructure alone will not solve digital poverty. Around 19 million people in the UK experience some form of digital exclusion, and government figures show that around 1.6 million people are still living entirely offline.”

She added that the cost of broadband services and suitable devices continues to prevent many households from accessing digital services.

“We estimate around two million people lack connectivity because of affordability, and gigabit broadband is frequently out of reach due to higher costs,” Anderson said.

“While faster networks are important, they only make a difference if people can afford to use them. Connectivity must be not only available, but affordable and accessible for everyone.”

Alongside fibre expansion, the government is also investing in improved mobile connectivity through the Shared Rural Network, a joint initiative between government and the UK’s major mobile network operators.

The programme aims to extend 4G coverage into rural “not-spots”, areas where reliable mobile signals have historically been unavailable. Recent upgrades have already expanded coverage significantly across parts of the UK countryside.

Industry leaders say these improvements are essential as demand for digital services continues to grow rapidly across both consumer and business sectors.

Jennifer Holmes, chief executive of the London Internet Exchange (LINX), said the continued expansion of gigabit broadband and mobile coverage represents a key step in strengthening the UK’s digital infrastructure.

“As demand for online services continues to grow, the networks that underpin the internet must be resilient, efficient and capable of supporting increasing volumes of data,” she said.

“Strong infrastructure is essential not only for everyday connectivity, but also for supporting innovation, economic growth and the UK’s wider digital ambitions.”

Holmes added that modern digital networks now underpin almost every part of the economy, from cloud computing and artificial intelligence to e-commerce and public services.

“Investment in faster and more reliable connectivity will help ensure that businesses, public services and communities can fully participate in an increasingly digital economy,” she said.

The new postcode tool is intended to give consumers and businesses clearer information about when gigabit broadband will reach their homes or workplaces, particularly in areas where rollout timelines have previously been unclear.

By providing greater transparency over rollout plans, ministers hope the tool will help local communities better plan for the future and encourage businesses to invest in rural areas with improved connectivity.

Project Gigabit remains one of the UK government’s flagship infrastructure initiatives, aimed at ensuring that the vast majority of UK premises have access to gigabit-capable broadband by the end of the decade.

But as rollout accelerates, policymakers and campaigners alike warn that bridging the digital divide will require more than infrastructure alone. Ensuring that connectivity is affordable, accessible and supported by digital skills programmes will be crucial if the benefits of the UK’s digital transformation are to be shared across every community.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

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Adobe (ADBE) slips despite record Q1 results; long-time CEO reveals plan to step down. (00:13) U.S. grants 30-day waiver for purchases of Russian oil stranded at sea. (01:22) Meta Platforms (META) delays rollout of new AI model ‘Avocado’ amid performance concerns, NYT reports. (02:34)

This is an abridged transcript.

Adobe (ADBE) is down 9% in premarket action after reporting its first quarter fiscal 2026 financial results.

Adobe also revealed that its CEO Shantanu Narayen plans to step down after 18 years.

For the quarter ended February 27, Adobe reported adjusted earnings per share of $6.06 versus the consensus estimate of $5.87.

Revenue for the first quarter increased 12% year over year to $6.4B, which was more than the $6.28B consensus.

Looking ahead, Adobe expects second-quarter revenue to range from $6.43B to $6.48B, with a midpoint of $6.455B, which is more than the $6.43B consensus. The company expects adjusted EPS to range from $5.80 to $5.85 versus the $5.68 estimate.

Narayen plans to remain as CEO until a successor has been appointed. He will retain his position as chair of the board.

The United States has issued a 30-day waiver allowing countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products already stranded at sea, expanding a temporary exemption granted last week to India alone.

The move aims to ease pressure on global oil prices as the war in the Middle East continues.

The waiver makes Russian crude and fuel aboard about 30 tankers in Asian waters potentially available for purchase, provided the cargoes were already at sea when the exemption was granted.

According to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the vessels are carrying at least 19M barrels of Russian crude and about 310,000 tons of refined products.

The U.S. has taken several steps to curb surging crude and fuel prices since strikes on Iran began two weeks ago. These include plans to release 172M barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Still, Brent crude (CO1:COM) is trading over $100 a barrel, on track for a 9% weekly surge. Crude oil futures (CL1:COM) are at $96 a barrel, on track for a 6% weekly surge.

Meta’s (META) new foundational A.I. model has reportedly fallen short of the performance of leading A.I. models from its rivals.

The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing sources, that internal tests for reasoning, coding and writing fall short of Google (GOOG) (GOOGL), OpenAI (OPENAI) and Anthropic (ANTHRO).

The model, code-named Avocado, outperformed Meta’s previous A.I. model and did better than Google’s Gemini 2.5 model from March. But they said it has not performed as strongly as Gemini 3.0 from November.

As a result, the people said, Meta (META) has delayed Avocado’s release to at least May from this month. They added that the leaders of Meta’s A.I. division had instead discussed temporarily licensing Gemini to power the company’s A.I. products, though no decisions have been made.

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Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are treading cautiously. Crude oil is down 0.2% at $96. Bitcoin is up 1.9% at $71,000. Gold is up 0.2% at $5,093.

The FTSE 100 is down 0.5% and the DAX is down 0.8%.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Eastman Kodak (KODK) +8% – Shares surged after the company reported Q4 revenue of $290M, up 9% Y/Y, while gross profit jumped 31% to $67M.

Economic calendar:

• 8:30 am GDP

• 8:30 am Personal Income and Outlays

• 10:00 am Consumer Sentiment

• 10:00 am JOLTS

• 1:00 pm Baker Hughes Rig Count

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