£500,000 investment to help rural residents in Derbyshire get faster broadband service

Residents and businesses in some of the most rural parts of Derbyshire are to get a helping hand in accessing high speed broadband.
The investment by Derbyshire County Council should see a faster, more reliable broadband service in hard-to-reach parts of the county. Photo by Pixabay/Free-Photos.The investment by Derbyshire County Council should see a faster, more reliable broadband service in hard-to-reach parts of the county. Photo by Pixabay/Free-Photos.
The investment by Derbyshire County Council should see a faster, more reliable broadband service in hard-to-reach parts of the county. Photo by Pixabay/Free-Photos.

The county council is investing £500,000 to top up the Government’s existing Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme which helps people in hard-to-reach locations get a fast, reliable broadband service.

This extra funding will double the amount of financial support that eligible households and businesses with broadband speeds of less than 100Mbps in rural parts of Derbyshire are entitled to and will help pay for the cost of installing faster connections to their premises.

It means these premises, providing they are not already in a government-funded plan for a broadband upgrade, can apply for up to £3,000 per household and up to £7,000 per small to medium sized business.

This investment by the council is in addition to its existing Digital Derbyshire programme - a multi-million pound partnership with UK Government and Openreach which has made better, faster broadband available to more than 102,000 premises.

Councillor Simon Spencer, cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure on Derbyshire County Council, said: “A number of Derbyshire communities have already benefitted from the voucher scheme and this new ‘top-up’ funding means more homes and businesses in the hardest to reach locations can take advantage of the scheme.

“The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted just how important it is to have access to fast and reliable broadband. Whether it’s keeping in touch with loved ones or working from home the demand to be digitally connected has increased and this extra investment by the county council will further help to bridge the digital divide.”

To apply for the scheme residents and businesses can visit www.gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk to find a list of suppliers in their area. The supplier that they contact will apply for the funding required to help pay for an upgraded service.

The deadline for applying for the voucher scheme is March 31, 2021.