Project Gigabit is a £5 billion government infrastructure project aimed at delivering fast and reliable gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses in the hardest-to-reach parts of the UK. The project falls within the scope of work carried out by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and is managed on a day-to-day basis by Building Digital UK (BDUK).
Project Gigabit is expected to be achieved via a range of different delivery methods, outlined below.
More information can be found on the HM Government Project Gigabit website.
Gigabit Broadband Contracts - Project Gigabit
County Durham is one of the first areas of the country to benefit from DSIT gigabit broadband contracts, which will see a broadband supplier(s) utilising public subsidy to upgrade parts of the Durham County Council local authority area to gigabit-capable broadband.
The initial contract will focus delivery in rural areas in the west of County Durham in the Teesdale area. In September 2022 DSIT appointed Borderlink, trading as GoFibre, to deliver this contract which will result in more than 4,000 rural premises being able to access ultrafast gigabit-capable broadband offering speeds of 1,000 Megabits per second (Mbps).
Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS)
The GBVS is a supplier led scheme whereby eligible rural communities work with a broadband supplier of their choice, who will provide the community with gigabit-capable broadband using vouchers issued via the GBVS. The supplier can claim vouchers up to £4,500 per eligible residential or business premise.
More information can be found at the HM Government GBVS website.
Durham County Council Top-Up Scheme
For eligible rural areas where a premise is unable to achieve broadband speeds of greater than 30Mbps, Durham County Council offers a Top-Up Scheme, which effectively increases the value of the GBVS vouchers.
