Superfast broadband roll-out in remote parts of North Yorkshire will allow more people to work from home

North Yorkshire County Council has announced that it is rolling out the fourth stage of the hugely ambitious project which has already seen internet access improved for tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

The council is now looking to recruit a broadband service provider for the latest stage of the scheme, with a contract worth up to £12.5m.

The announcement comes as workers across the nation have relied heavily on domestic internet connections as they have been forced to work from home during the coronavirus lockdown.

The county council’s executive member for access, Coun Don Mackenzie, said: “This is very good news for residents and businesses in our county.

“The last few months have shown how important good broadband is for us all, and the county council’s latest investment in IT infrastructure could not come at a better time, particularly for our more rural communities, who would not otherwise receive this service.”

The new contract will deliver so-called Next Generation Access (NGA) to thousands of additional premises across North Yorkshire where the technology is not yet available.

The first three phases of the Superfast North Yorkshire project has already brought high-quality broadband to more than 180,000 homes and businesses across the county.

This latest stage of the project is being heralded as a major step towards realising the vision of achieving as close to 100 per cent superfast coverage as the available funding will allow.

This project will offer access to critical broadband infrastructure for residents, communities and businesses across some of the remotest areas of North Yorkshire.

It will provide the ability to use existing and future services such as social, medical and remote care facilities, allowing greater independence as well as providing the core infrastructure needed for the technology.

The project is funded by the council and is managed on behalf of the authority by a firm, NYnet. It is hoped that the procurement process will be completed and the chosen supplier announced by December this year.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the Government wants to bring gigabit-speed broadband to the whole of the UK in the next five years, significantly increasing average internet speeds in many parts of the country.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee confirmed in March that it was launching an inquiry into how realistic the Government’s ambition is.