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The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport yesterday announced a collaboration with the Welsh government which could see over 50,000 rural homes and businesses in Wales become eligible from broadband upgrades.
From this week, residents and businesses will be able to access more funding as part of the UK Government’s boosted Gigabit Broadband Voucher scheme.
Whilst vouchers worth up to £3500 for rural SMEs and up to £1500 for rural residential properties have been available in Wales since May 2019, the costs of infrastructure roll-out in more rural areas of the country has been more expensive than originally forecast. As a result, the maximum funding available has now been doubled with an additional £3500 for SMEs and £1500 for homes now on offer.
The vouchers help to subsidise the cost of building next-generation broadband infrastructure as well as incentivising other broadband providers to build in these rural areas.
Speaking about the announcement, Matt Warman, UK Government Minister for Digital Infrastructure said, “Our £1.8 billion superfast broadband programme transformed Wales’ digital landscape, allowing many people to work remotely during lockdown…We are now focusing on future-proofing internet networks with gigabit speeds and, working with the Welsh Government, I am pleased to offer even more vital funding to bring this next-generation connectivity to rural businesses and homes.”
Welsh Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport, Lee Waters was equally positive about the news saying, “We are pleased to provide this top up for the UK Government’s scheme which takes into account the challenges of reaching some premises in rural areas. I would urge communities and businesses to explore the options these vouchers will offer so they can access some of the fastest speeds available.”
DCMS and other key stakeholders in delivering next-generation connectivity in the UK will be speaking at Connected Britain 2020 on 23rd and 24th September. Head to the event website to find out how you can join.
