Rural residents urged to apply for faster broadband funding

Rural residents and businesses in Denbighshire are being remind to apply for funding towards the cost of installing gigabit broadband.

The Welsh and UK governments are now working together on the Gigabit Broadband Voucher scheme which covers part of the cost of installing new gigabit-capable internet connections.

Under the new partnership £7,000 is available for small-to-medium sized businesses and up to £3,000 is available for residential premises.

Gigabit-capable broadband connections offer the fastest and most reliable speeds available, and the scheme is open to rural premises with broadband speeds of less than 100Mbps.

Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of Denbighshire County Council and Lead Member for the Economy, said: “This scheme will help ensure more people and businesses have access to reliable broadband speeds. I urge all those Denbighshire residents in rural locations without decent broadband to check to see if they are eligible for these vouchers.

“Connecting communities is a priority for the Council under our Corporate Plan and improved internet connections ensure our communities have access to goods and services and help the county’s businesses provide services online.

“It is possible for residents or community groups to work together on applications and the Council is working to advise and assist them with their applications.”         

The Council has also employed a digital officer to assist residents with their connectivity issues free of charge as part of its work to create connected communities.

As well as offering the Gigabit Broadband Voucher scheme, the Welsh Government funded Fibre Roll-out will see a total of 1,862 extra premises in Denbighshire enabled for Fibre To The Premise (FTTP) connection by June 2022 and Openreach has already enabled 201 premises in the county.  

If you are concerned about your internet connection or would like to discuss the options available, you can contact the Council’s digital officer via communitydevelopment@denbighshire.gov.uk and to check eligibility for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher visit https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk