Rural businesses and communities are set to benefit from improved broadband access as part of a £45 million boost by the government.
The new funding for the government’s Rural Broadband Infrastructure Scheme adds to the £30 million investment announced last year, increasing the total pot of funding available to £75 million.
The money will be made available through grants to local authorities that have already applied for funding, in areas where broadband services at speeds of 30Mbps or faster are not available or planned. The funding will be used to support full fibre wherever possible.
Lord Gardiner announced that North Yorkshire is one of the local authorities to receive funding through the scheme with a grant offer of over £11 million.
Rural Affairs Minister Lord Gardiner said: "Rural areas should not be left behind in the connectivity slow lane, missing out on the opportunities high speed broadband can bring."
The scheme is delivered by the Rural Payments Agency and supports those rural areas which are not currently scheduled to receive broadband as part of commercial delivery plans or under the government’s Superfast Broadband Programme, which expects to give access to superfast broadband to around 97% of UK premises over the next few years.
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