Funding for broadband

There are currently two central government schemes which provide financial support to businesses and residents wishing to access faster broadband. Project Gigabit is the government's £5bn plan to get rural homes and businesses connected; find more details about the Project Gigabit rollout in South Yorkshire by using the link below:

Project Gigabit – Superfast South Yorkshire

Gigabit Voucher Scheme

Rural premises with broadband speeds of less than 100Mbps (using connections which are not gigabit-capable,) can use vouchers worth up to £4,500 for each small to medium-sized enterprise or residential premise, when part of a group project, to support the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections.

At the time of writing in March 2024, the gigabit broadband voucher scheme is paused due to Project Gigabit activities in the South Yorkshire area, but will be reactivated in due course.

Read more about the Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme

Broadband Universal Service Obligation

In March 2020, Ofcom launched the broadband universal service obligation. Under this obligation, people in the UK have the right to request a decent (defined as a download speed of 10 Mbps, and an upload speed of 1 Mbps,) and affordable broadband connection.

Read more about the Broadband Universal Service Obligation

Gigabit Broadband for Existing Developments

If you currently have the fastest broadband your provider can supply and are finding that it is still too slow for your needs, here is some guidance for forming a community project to take advantage of the above funding schemes.

Guidance for Existing Sites