Rural businesses can apply for help with broadband
RESIDENTS and businesses in more remote parts of rural Staffordshire without superfast broadband are being urged to find out more about a Government scheme which has been boosted by additional county council investment and now extended.
As part of Project Gigabit, the UK Gigabit Voucher
Scheme was relaunched in April 2021 with a £210m boost.
It provides funding of up to £1,500 to eligible rural residential properties and £3,500 to eligible rural small and medium-sized business properties to enable them to get connected directly to ultrafast broadband.
Thanks to an additional £1m investment by the county council, people can apply for an additional £2,000 through the Staffordshire Top-up, meaning residents can apply for up to £3,500 and businesses £5,500.
Gigabit-capable broadband (also known as ultrafast broadband) provides speeds of up to 1,000Mbps or 1Gbps.
It means residents and businesses will be getting the latest technology, delivered straight to their homes. They will then be able to choose an internet package from a provider to suit their needs and budget. To qualify for the scheme, residents and businesses must live in a rural area, be unable to get broadband speeds of 100Mbps or more, not be in an existing plan for a broadband upgrade and apply as a group of two or more premises.
Whilst the original Superfast Staffordshire programme, combined with commercial roll-out, has enabled 96 per cent of county properties to connect to superfast broadband, four per cent currently miss out. Now these communities are being urged to find out more about the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and Staffordshire Top-up.
Connection will take place in a 12-month period after funding has been agreed. It will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for environment, infrastructure and climate change Simon Tagg said: “Ultrafast broadband connection in our rural communities is a priority to use and will make a huge difference to people’s day-to-day living as well as business productivity. We’re in an age where rural location should not stand in the way of connectivity or remains a barrier to choosing a place to live or do business. The importance of this has never been more evident than through our experiences during the pandemic period.
“We’re pleased to have been able to top-up the existing government scheme to give even more reach and accessibility to our rural communities.
“Our Superfast Staffordshire programme was a huge success and, together with commercial roll-out, enabled 96 per cent of county properties to connect to superfast broadband. We have always set out our commitment to finding solutions for the final four per cent, often in the most remote rural locations.
“The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and Staffordshire Top-up are making a real difference and so we want more communities to come forward.”