Please note: The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) will pause from 24 September 2021 and reopen towards Summer 2022 (date to be confirmed). The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are launching a procurement for the North East of England that will result in gigabit-capable broadband coverage for thousands of properties. The GBVS needs to be placed on hold while DCMS go through the process to contract for this delivery.

As part of the Government’s Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme business and residents in some of the hardest-to-reach places in the UK are eligible for additional funding towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband to their premises when part of a group project.

Rural premises, experiencing speeds below 100 Megabit per second (Mbps), may be eligible for up to £3,500 per small and medium-sized business (SME) and up to £1,500 per resident to support the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections (subject to eligibility rules).

Group projects are when two or more residents and/or SMEs get together to combine their vouchers towards the shared cost of installation. Single connections are not eligible for additional funding. An outline of the process is detailed below.