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Our year in review

It’s been a busy year here at Digital Durham. Join us as we take a look back to just some of the highlights of the past twelve months. January With a good start to the year, we launched our new look website on 10 January bringing together information, resources and guidance on all things digital from broadband infrastructure, to support for the digitally excluded. February We donned our high-vis jackets and visited GoFibre’s new County Durham base ahead of starting work on Project Gigabit in Teesdale. The fibre engineers even let us join roadside (safely!) to see some test, rod and roping. April Spades in the ground! Following 6 months of planning and surveying alongside the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Durham County Council, GoFibre started construction of their full fibre broadband network in parts of Teesdale. May Digital Durham joined GoFibre’s first community engagement event, chatting to residents from Barnard Castle and answering their burning broadband questions. June We brought together the big players in digital inclusion in County Durham, with the launch of Durham County Council’s Digital Inclusion Steering Group, part of the County Durham Partnership. July We joined over 500 of the brightest minds in technology at the Thinking Digital Conference to expand our minds on Artificial Intelligence, supercomputing and crypto currency.August We joined GoFibre’s West Auckland depot team to welcome Dehenna Davison MP for Bishop Auckland, providing information on Project Gigabit and the progress with the build in Teesdale. September We joined the National Databank delivered through the Good Things Foundation. Like a foodbank but for mobile data, the databank provides free mobile SIM cards to help digitally excluded people get connected. October Our team were out and about for Get Online Week, in Spennymoor and Ferryhill, helping the local community use their devices and get online. We also launched our digital support finder which helps residents find organisations who offer local digital support. November The 4 and 5 November saw us attending the student led Durham University Hack event (DurHack23) which Durham County Council sponsored. Over 450 students coming from across the country, make the event the largest hack event in the UK! December We celebrated over 800 hard-to-reach homes and businesses now able to reach gigabit capable broadband speeds, as the first phase of GoFibre’s full fibre connectivity network build completed under the UK Government’s Project Gigabit.