Rural Community Broadband Fund
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched the Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF) with funding of £20m.The Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF) will enable the roll out of superfast broadband to projects in the most hard to reach areas.
These are within the remaining 10 per cent in England where it would not otherwise be possible through a council-led roll out as set out under Local Broadband Plans.
This fund will ensure that a greater proportion of businesses and residents in those communities can take advantage of the benefits of superfast broadband over and above the basic two megabits per second service which will be provided under the BDUK mainstream programme.
Areas that fall within the 10 per cent (of the Local Broadband Plan) who are interested will need to demonstrate local need and demand for superfast broadband; have the capacity to make it happen at a reasonable cost; and find match funding.
If your community meets this criteria and you're interested in the fund please email broadband@derbyshire.gov.uk.
More information about the fund and details on how to apply can be found on Defra's RDPE Network web page (opens in a new window).
The fund is being delivered as part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) and is jointly funded by Defra and Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) alongside their main broadband programme.