The Government of UK has announced that tens of thousands of people in rural Derbyshire, UK will enjoy access to next generation gigabit broadband after a major contract was signed to upgrade the county’s network as part of Project Gigabit - the government’s £5 billion mission to upgrade digital connectivity in hard-to-reach areas.
Over 17,000 homes and businesses across rural Derbyshire will be connected to the fastest broadband speeds on the market. The county has already benefited from a rapid rollout of modern connectivity infrastructure, with 70% of premises now having access to gigabit-capable broadband compared to just 4% in January 2019.
They join homes and businesses across Shropshire, Cambridgeshire, New Forest, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampshire, North East Staffordshire and Oxfordshire who have been awarded contracts this year to upgrade their broadband - totalling over £530 million invested to benefit over 330,000 properties. This announcement comes as Building Digital UK (BDUK) issued its latest progress update yesterday, showing the total number of homes and businesses that already have access to fast and reliable gigabit broadband thanks to UK government investment now stands at 929,700.
Backed by over £33 million in government investment, network operator Connect Fibre will be rolling out full fibre broadband to those currently struggling with slow speeds, in places such as Eckington, Hulland Ward and Shirley. Detailed planning in Derbyshire is set to get underway, with spades in the ground by mid next year, and the first premises expected to be connected in 2025.
This news comes just weeks after Connect Fibre was awarded a £16.5 million Project Gigabit contract, to connect up to 6,000 rural homes and businesses in North East Staffordshire as the government’s Project Gigabit roll out gathers pace.
Sir John Whittingdale, Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure
Thousands of homes and businesses in rural Derbyshire, from Eckington to Hulland Ward are set to experience lightning-fast broadband - fit for the future. Through our flagship Project Gigabit programme, we’re investing billions to make sure hard-to-reach communities like these get access to the transformative gigabit connectivity they deserve.
Stefan Stanislawski, CEO, Connect Fibre
Connect Fibre is thrilled to be awarded the Project Gigabit contract to bring full fibre broadband to hard-to-reach parts of Derbyshire. We’re big believers in the transformative power of reliable broadband and are honoured to be delivering to homes and businesses that need it most. Our commitment to connecting rural communities doesn’t stop at providing broadband, but extends into empowering homes and businesses with everything they need to thrive in today’s digital world. We are excited to get started on this journey and to see the life-changing impact it will have on Derbyshire residents.
Councillor Carolyn Renwick, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment, Derbyshire County Council
It’s great news that more than 17,000 Derbyshire homes and businesses will benefit from this latest roll-out of next generation broadband through Project Gigabit. Faster broadband improves everyone’s day-to-day living, enabling people to access health, education, banking and leisure services and more. It’s also critical for business operations, growth and increased productivity. This £33m investment by Government will increase speed and reliability in the network for these communities which is critical to levelling up these hard-to-reach communities, particularly in rural areas of our county, where commercial funding alone is insufficient to secure the money necessary to make this build happen.
