Lincolnshire County Council and BT Openreach are reissuing a call to all rural Lincolnshire areas to make use of Government vouchers for full fibre broadband.
The community-led scheme has already brought full fibre broadband to dozens of Lincolnshire villages – but some are still missing out on the potential upgrade.
Earlier this year, more than 20 rural communities, including North Kelsey, Honington, and Rippingale worked together with Openreach to build a new full fibre network.
Residents in these areas can now get gigabit-capable speeds, transforming the way they connect at home and empowering businesses online. And the Government’s Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme means thousands more homes and businesses can get the same service, too.
Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for IT at Lincolnshire County Council said: “The Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme is open to rural premises that aren’t included in the plans of commercial operators. Eligible Lincolnshire premises can claim a grant for £4500 to put towards a gigabit connection.
“This means that the likes of Openreach will use the Government Voucher money to install full fibre to the premises.
“Typically, Openreach will talk to residents and engage with the Parish Council and community leaders as needed and that’s where Lincolnshire County Council is involved, to help where we can at open meetings.
“When enough premises have pledged their vouchers, the supplier, will build the infrastructure and then claim the funding from the Government.”
More than a third of households that pledged government vouchers in the first wave of the programme have already upgraded to faster, more reliable speeds. The next in line to benefit are North Scarle and Newton on Trent and across Lincolnshire, nearly 200,000 premises can now upgrade to full fibre broadband.
However, some communities are still waiting for access to full fibre such as Swinstead, Swayfield, Burton Coggles, Irnham, Friskney and Surfleet.
With enough backing, these areas could be next in line for a full fibre rollout, ensuring that even the most rural parts of Lincolnshire can benefit from this future-proof technology. But to do that on the scheme means communities coming together to put all their vouchers into one pot.
Wendy Sycamore, Openreach’s regional engagement manager, said: “Upgrading to full fibre is easy, but it doesn’t happen automatically. Openreach’s fibre checker has the latest information about our work in Lincolnshire, and once full fibre is available where you live, all you need to do is contact your broadband provider, place an order, and we’ll do the rest.”
She added: “We’re building faster and further than any other company in Europe, but we need local communities to get behind the rollouts. We’ve already made huge strides in Lincolnshire, and with enough support, we can bring full fibre to more villages, helping rural communities thrive in the digital age.”
For more information and how to put a community voucher bid together go to the Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme.