Businesses in the Derbyshire Dales can find the latest news on Broadband in the area via Digital Derbyshire. Digital Derbyshire is the county's digital lead, which has overseen the Digital Derbyshire Programme for the last few years.
The Digital Derbyshire Programme worked with Openreach on the Superfast Programme, successfully delivering better broadband to over 120,000 homes and businesses across Derbyshire. Although this programme has now ended, Digital Derbyshire continues to work with Building Digital UK on the new Project Gigablt rollout and delivering it's own Digital Connectivity Strategy.
Project Gigabit is the UK government's £5 billion initiative, aimed at provining fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband to hard-to-reach communities and businesses across the country. The programme focuses on areas that are not included in commercial broadband suppliers plans, ensuring that rural and remote regions, as well as underserved urban pockets, have access to high-speed internet. By 2030, the government aims to achieve near total gigablt coverage, with over 780,000 premises already benefitting from the programme as of April 2024.
Project Gigabit in Derbyshire
In Derbyshire, Project Gigabit is making significant strides to enhance digital connectivity, particularly in rural areas. Two major contracts have been awarded to broadband providers to extend gigabit-capable broadband to thousands of homes anbd businesses.
Connect Fibre's £33 Million Contract: in December 2023, Connect Fibre secured a £33 million contract to deliver full-fibre broadband to over 17,000 rural premises in Derbyshire, including villages and hamlets such as Hullard Ward and Shirley. Work commenced in mid-2024, wiht the first connections expected in 2025.
FullFibre's £10.7 Million Contract: In April 2024, FullFibre Ltd was awarded a £10.7 million contract to provide gigabit-capable broadband to approximately 4,400 premises in the Peak District area of Derbyshire. Preparatory work began in 2024, with services anticipated to go live in 2025.
These initiatives are part of a broader effort to increase gigabit coverage in Derbyshire, which has already seen significant improvements. As of the end of 2023, approximately 70% of premises in the county had access to gigabit-capable broadband, a substantial increase from just 4% in January 2019.
Another aspect of Project Gigabit is the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS). It is designed to provide high-speed internet access to rural areas lacking reliable broadband, that are not being picked up by Project Gigabit's commercial rollout. The scheme offers financial support to eligible homes and businesses to facilitate the installation of gigabit-capable broadband connections in the form of vouchers. The scheme is designed to work collaboratively by encouraging small groups of neighbours - both residents and small businesses - to come together and pool their vouchers. This approach helps make the delivery of gigbit broadband financially viable for suppliers in remote or rural areas where installation costs are typical high.
A government voucher worth £4,500 is available to eligible homes and businesses and Derbyshire County Council have committed to provie a 'Top Up' to vouchers where needed with a value of £3,000. Making the maximum voucher value £7,500.
For more information visit the Digital Derbyshire website.