North Yorkshire to get multi-million funding boost for broadband

Rural communities will get faster broadband after a £45m funding boost from the Government.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Jul 2018, 15:14 BST
Updated 26th Jul 2018, 15:17 BST
Broadband speeds will be improvedBroadband speeds will be improved
Broadband speeds will be improved

Cash from the Rural Broadband Infrastructure Scheme will be provided to local authorities in areas that have missed out on faster internet speeds.

North Yorkshire will get £11.1m from the scheme following an announcement today by the Rural Affairs Minister Lord Gardiner.

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On a visit to the North York Moors National Park, Lord Gardiner said: "Rural areas should not be left behind in the connectivity slow lane, missing out on the opportunities high speed broadband can bring.

"The funding made available through the Rural Broadband Infrastructure Scheme champions our countryside communities and businesses by opening up access to broadband of at least 30 Megabits per second, in some of the most hard to reach areas.”

Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Essex, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire will also get funding via the Rural Payments Agency.

The cash is being made available to councils which have already applied for help to improve broadband access and will be used to install super-fast "full-fibre" connections where possible.

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The funding is meant for communities not included in the Government's Superfast Broadband Programme or where telecoms companies are not planning to improve internet access.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said today's announcement was part of a planned investment of at least £3.5bn in rural economies by 2020.

Related topics:North YorkshireGovernmentCambridgeshire