Council welcomes investment into rural broadband
Over 150 thousand homes and businesses across Hampshire are set to benefit from a gigabit broadband upgrade.
Last updated 5th Aug 2021
The Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Keith Mans has welcomed the recent announcement by Government of an investment boost that will enable the delivery of broadband to ‘hard to connect’ rural areas across the county.
Hampshire is set to receive a share of between £148 million - £250 million committed to the region as part of the Government’s Project Gigabit in the first tranche of the national scheme.
Commenting, Councillor Mans said: "I am delighted that Hampshire is at the vanguard of the Government's Project Gigabit programme.
We have made the case at a national level to ensure our residents are among the first to benefit from this funding to deliver digital infrastructure in ‘not-spot’ areas that have proved to be stubbornly unviable for commercial suppliers to reach.
We estimate this investment for the region could deliver gigabit broadband to an additional 150,000 properties, enabling rural communities to get connected, whilst fuelling job creation and economic growth."
The vast majority of Hampshire – more than 97% of premises - can access superfast broadband, and since 2013, the County Council has championed high speed connections for those in rural locations - enabling 115,000 more homes and businesses to get connected.
Project Gigabit will incentivise commercial operators to reach the areas that are the hardest to reach at scale.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight have been allocated a share of between £148 million - £250 million as part of the Government’s £5 billion investment.
The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is set to procure contracts for the region’s roll out in February 2022, with delivery expected in 2023.
This comes after Hampshire County Council recently committed a further £1 million to provide a ‘top-up’ to the Government’s existing Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme worth up to £3,000 per property.
This is helping people in ‘broadband not-spots’ where it is most costly to connect, to get a fast, reliable broadband service. To find out more, go to: Hampshire Superfast Broadband.