Press Release
Voneus, the rural community broadband specialist, today announced it has begun its fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) network in the village of Dunton, Bedfordshire, bringing Ultrafast internet speeds to residents in the area. Work on the new network commenced in mid-December at a ‘first spade in the ground’ ceremony attended by local residents and local Councillor Adam Zerny. This is the first in a number of full-fibre upgrade projects Voneus is undertaking to help close the connectivity divide between Britain’s rural communities and better-served urban areas.
While situated only 12 miles from Bedford, back in 2016 the rural village and civil parish of Dunton struggled with internet speeds of between 0.2 and 2.5 Mbps – which was barely enough to load websites and send emails. Frustrated by these slow speeds and poor mobile network coverage in the area, residents decided to team up with rural broadband specialist, Voneus, to end their long wait for decent broadband.
Voneus solved Dunton’s broadband problems by building a bespoke-designed wireless broadband network, based on Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology, connecting 278 homes via a transmitter on the village church. Offering Superfast speeds of between 30 and 50 Mbps, residents were suddenly able to stream movies, play games and work from home, activities that were previously impossible.
This new FTTP rollout will now double internet speeds to Dunton’s homes, offering guaranteed minimum speeds of 100 Mbps, with faster packages of 250, 500 or 900 Mbps also available at highly competitive prices for busy households where everyone needs to be online at the same time. Current customers will be automatically upgraded to FTTP as the build progresses and the fibre passes their houses, without any one-off installation fees or extra charges. Those that do not have a contract with Voneus can also request an install and can also apply for financial support through the government’s Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme, for which Voneus is an approved supplier.
“The initial deployment of wireless Superfast broadband took half an hour. I only had to point to where I wanted Voneus engineers to place the small router and I was connected,” said resident David Booth. “Voneus’ service has since enabled my wife and I to keep working from home uninterrupted as part of larger teams over the internet. We communicate with our colleagues via online voice and video meetings in the day, and stream on demand TV and movies in the evening. The free upgrade to faster speeds will now enrich our family life even more.”
“Superfast broadband has become an essential service to most households,” said Councillor Adam Zerny. “I am delighted to see the FTTP rollout is now underway and Dunton residents will soon be getting quicker broadband.”
“Dunton was once one of the most connectivity-deprived areas in England. Since coming on board with Voneus we have worked together to get the community up and running with broadband that has been a lifeline during the pandemic,” said Steve Leighton, CEO of Voneus. “We are now strengthening our brand promise by upgrading our customers to speeds that bring them on par with urban areas. Dunton is the first of many communities Voneus is taking on this journey to gigabit-capable connectivity. If your area is struggling with patchy and unreliable internet, we strongly encourage you to reach out.”
To enquire about Voneus services in your area, highlight a community in need of faster broadband or find out more about Voneus, call 0800 007 3377 or email broadband@voneus.com.
About Voneus:
Voneus is the champion of rural community broadband and leading provider of superfast broadband for homes and businesses located in poorly connected or difficult to reach communities. Founded in 2015 by a group of seasoned telecoms industry specialists, Voneus aims to become the UK’s number one provider of both superfast and ultrafast broadband services, bringing parity between rural areas and the UK’s towns and cities. For more information please visit http://www.voneus.com
Media contacts:
Hannah Arnold / Reka Agopcsa, Eleven Hundred Agency
Hannah.arnold@elevenhundredagency.com / reka.agopcsa@elevenhundredagency.com
T: 020 7688 5202
