DEFRA UK to Award GBP360k Wireless Broadband Grant to Uppingham First

The UK governments Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) looks set to award £360,000 to help the community group Uppingham First deploy a 30Mbps (Megabits per second) capable superfast wireless broadband network that can reach isolated parts of rural East Leicestershire and Rutland (England).

Under the plans Uppingham First would commission the building of a 30 metre high mast (Uppingham Broadband Mast Project), which has already been granted planning permission by Rutland County Council (RCC). This would then be used to transmit the new connectivity to locations of up to 25 miles away and could also host a local trial of 4G based mobile broadband technology in the area.

It’s understood that the first two Leicestershire villages to benefit could be Hallaton and Somerby. Several other Rutland parishes are also keen to get involved.