Rural Britain

Wessex Internet’s fibre services have gone live across 20 villages and other rural areas in Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire since January 2024.

The lower penetration rate of fibre in England’s coastal communities threatens to see these areas fall across various socio-economic metrics, find the Coastal Communities Alliance.

The Government’s trial to use Starlink as a solution for connecting hard-to-reach areas of the UK is a “time-consuming and unnecessary distraction”, according to David Hennell, Business Development Director at National Broadband.

Openreach is bringing fibre to residents in Mouswald, a Dumfriesshire internet black spot, through funding from the Reaching 100% (R100) Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS).

Quickline Communication’s hybrid network is now available in 2,000 rural communities as it aims to tackle the digital divide.

Shropshire-based SWS Broadband will be the key sponsor of this year’s Michaelmas Fair in Bishop’s Castle as it reiterates its commitment to rural communities.

The Connecting Cheshire Partnership has announced a £2.9m investment to enable more rural communities to access gigabit broadband. 

The Griffin Inn has become Broadway Broadband’s first connection in Dale Village as the altnet pledges to supply all 224 local properties with full fibre.

A joint £82m investment from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Department for Education (DfE) will connect up to 3,000 primary schools across Cornwall and Cumbria to full fibre.

A further 1,110 homes and businesses in south Somerset will receive fibre access due to extra funding secured by Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS).