Full fibre broadband for Bempton and Flamborough primary schools
It's thanks to two government-funded projects to help rural areas of the East Riding
Two government-funded projects which will deliver full fibre broadband to primary schools in some of the hardest-to-reach rural areas of the East Riding have been successfully completed.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council has worked in partnership with Redcentric, Openreach and KCOM as part of the Government’s Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) and Rural Gigabit Connectivity (RGC) programmes.
Both programmes are funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The council was awarded funding to deliver gigabit-capable, full fibre broadband to 37 public-funded primary schools. Flamborough CE VC Primary School will benefit from the LFFN programme. Bempton Primary School is included in the RGC programme.
The aim of the programmes – designed primarily with local authorities in mind – is to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks in both rural and urban locations.
The Government has identified full fibre broadband and 5G as being essential to its plan to level up the UK. Ministers are delivering a £5billion programme called Project Gigabit to bring next-generation connections to rural areas that would otherwise have been left behind by commercial providers.
In 2017, it announced over £1bn of funding to stimulate the rollout of full fibre networks across the UK. This included the £200m Challenge Fund under the Local Full Fibre Networks programme.
Minister for Digital Infrastructure Julia Lopez said: “I'm proud that our investment in the East Riding has put an end to slow broadband for dozens of schools, helping to level up access to the huge library of learning experiences available online.
“This is just the start of our revolutionary plan to boost broadband in Yorkshire, with thousands of hard-to-reach homes and businesses set to get next-generation connections through our £5billion Project Gigabit.”
Councillor Jonathan Owen, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “The successful delivery of these two full fibre broadband programmes will be a boost to our more rural schools, making a welcome difference for both pupils and staff as they continue their learning.
“We want to continue to provide the best, cutting-edge technological capabilities to our region, and this is an essential example of this forward thinking.”
Councillor Victoria Aitken, portfolio holder for children and young people’s education, health and wellbeing at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, added: "This investment for our young people will give great opportunities across our rural schools. It will help them embrace new ways of learning and introduce them to the digital world of education.”