Hampshire County Council invests additional £1 million in rural broadband
Eligible residents will be able to receive vouchers of up to £3,000 to help install full fibre broadband
Hampshire County Council is investing an additional £1 million in supporting the delivery of super fast broadband to households in rural areas.
It's a 'top up' to the Government's existing Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, set up to help people in hard-to-reach locations get a fast, reliable broadband service.
The investment means eligible residents will be able to access vouchers of up to £3,000 to help install full fibre broadband - double that of the standard voucher.
The council says that, despite superfast broadband being available to more than 97% of premises in Hampshire, those living in remote locations often miss out as their areas are more difficult – and more expensive – to reach.
Last year’s scheme supported over 2,400 premises to progress with their plans for full fibre broadband.
To qualify for the scheme, residents must live in a rural area, be unable to get broadband speeds of 100Mbps or more and apply as a group of two or more premises.
Applications for funding are made by the supplier directly to the Government, there is no need for a separate application to Hampshire County Council.
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Keith Mans, said:
“The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced how vital it is for communities to have access to reliable fast broadband.
"This enables people to stay socially connected, perform essential tasks, to work and learn from home, whilst also supporting economic activity.
“The vast majority of Hampshire – more than 97% of premises 1- can access superfast broadband and since 2013, we’ve championed high speed connections for those in hard-to-reach areas.
"Thanks to this rollout, we have enabled 115,000 more homes and businesses to get connected.
“But it is important that we continue to target additional “broadband not-spots” so we are committing a further £1million to ‘top up’ the national voucher scheme.
"This will help even more people to get high speed connections where commercial operators will not provide services, due to the higher costs involved. I urge people to check if they are eligible for this financial assistance.”