£700K for Faster Broadband in Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks

The Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) project in England has successfully raised an extra £700,000 to help roll-out “superfast fibre broadband” (although curiously the speeds are stated as sub-superfast “up to 24Mbps“) across hard to reach communities in the Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks.

Apparently more than three quarters of all premises in Dartmoor and 69% in Exmoor will be given the opportunity to sign-up for the service by the end of 2016. The work will also be complimented by a pilot of Satellite and WiFi mesh technology from ISP SatelliteInternet, which earlier this year won £175,125 from the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK programme (here) to help remote communities in the same areas.

Dr Nigel Stone, CEO of Exmoor National Park Authority, said:

“We are hugely aware of the importance of connecting some of our most rural communities, to benefit both domestic and business interests alike. We have put in significant effort to secure greater superfast broadband coverage throughout Exmoor and we are very pleased that this work is starting to pay off. The partnership we have built with Connecting Devon and Somerset to secure additional funding for these hard to reach areas is something to be proud of. We would like to thank Connecting Devon and Somerset and Devon and Somerset County Councils for their on-going support and co-operation.

Not only have we been able to increase the reach of the current Connecting Devon and Somerset programme, we have also been able to secure a national pilot. This will enable us to bring forward new technologies to improve the situations of those in more remote communities. We will continue to support the superfast extension programme in an effort to provide further connections in the future.”

The effort forms part of the wider CDS project, which ultimately aims to make BT’s “fibre optic broadband” (FTTC/P) service available to over 90% of local premises by the end of 2016 and their long-term aspiration is to reach 100% by 2020.