Community Fibre Issues Free Laptops and Broadband to Students

London-focused FTTP broadband ISP CommunityFibre has helped to gift free laptops and 1 year of free broadband to 30 students and their families from the Lansbury Lawrence and Clara Grant primary schools in Poplar. The move aims to assist with home learning, courtesy of the Inclusive Broadband Connected Communities project.

The two schools are the newest participants in the scheme’s latest round of the programme, following a successful pilot with Bygrove and Stebon primary schools this past summer. It brings the number of local families who received this twin offer, that also come with a digital skills training package, to 230.

The scheme, which launched in June 2020 is an initiative of the partnership between Poplar HARCA, Letta Trust, LBTH Council, the East End Community Foundation (EECF) and Community Fibre.

Digital connectivity is essential for learning and education. For example, in Tower Hamlets, over 50% of students do not have a device to access online learning. National research shows that in the most deprived schools only 16% of pupils participate in online lessons daily. This can widen the gap between the poorest and richest children, which is something that the new partnership aims to tackle.

Graeme Oxby, CEO of Community Fibre, said:

“At Community Fibre, digital inclusion is at the heart of what we do. We strive to provide fast, affordable, and reliable broadband to everyone in London. We are proud to help the East End Community Foundation, Poplar HARCA, the LETTA Trust and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets further with their mission in offering access to online education, which is more critical than ever in these difficult times. We will continue pursuing our efforts in 2021 to connect more families in London and bridge the digital gap.”

The provider is currently working to cover 1 million homes and businesses with their gigabit speed “full fibre” network by the end of 2023, which is being supported by around £500m of private investment (here). The vast majority of this has so far been focused upon the London area and large residential apartment buildings (MDUs) or office blocks.