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Rural community broadband

Rural businesses and communities in the South West are to receive better and faster broadband after a £730,000 RDPE funding boost.

The money has been given to communities in Devon, Gloucestershire and Somerset to help develop and encourage innovative approaches which address gaps in rural broadband coverage.

The Devon and Somerset Rural Broadband Project has been given £550,000 for four ‘cluster’ communities. It will involve deploying a community-owned broadband structure in the Blackdown Hills and Exmoor areas so that local businesses and communities can test different solutions and approaches to broadband. They will then be able to operate systems which will deliver the connectivity and systems they need before producing a blue print for other areas to follow.

The project, which will be managed by Devon County Council with support from Somerset County Council, will focus on:

The project started in May and is due for completion by December 2010.

The second grant is for £180,000 and was given to help upgrade existing infrastructure and provide new lines to help boost the availability and speed of broadband in the Forest of Dean. The project bid was submitted by the place promotion organisation Gloucestershire First as part of a drive to enhance business innovation in the Forest. It worked closely with BT Openreach and local businesses and community groups including Gloucestershire Community Council, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Forest of Dean District Council to research local need and develop the bid.

The project aims to reach communities which would not normally be targeted by the commercial market. It wants to install 5,000 lines to open up better broadband access to people and businesses considered ‘hard to reach’. Such improvements will create and retain jobs and make businesses more competitive in national and international markets.

Nine bids for funding were submitted to the RDPE from across the South West. The funds are part of the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) to help mitigate against the current impacts of the economic downturn across Member States.

 



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