Government unveils £20m broadband fund for upland areas

The government is to provide up to £20m as part of a new Rural Community Broadband Fund dedicated to bringing superfast broadband to rural upland communities.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Upland Policy Review (PDF) said that the funds will come from Broadband Delivery UK's (BDUK) £530m budget and the Rural Development Programme for England for community-based broadband projects.

"The intention of the fund will be to provide opportunity for rural communities, including those in the uplands, to apply for funding for eligible smaller scale community broadband projects under the Rural Development Programme for England," the document states.

"Where local authorities have identified superfast broadband as a development priority, the government, through BDUK, will work with them to develop their plans for sourcing and upgrading infrastructure."

The document went on to say that bringing broadband to these areas will not only benefit those already living there, but encourage future investment.

"Many upland farming businesses and households have successfully diversified, including into non-farming enterprises such as tourism and off-farm employment, and better broadband access will enable many more to do this," it stated.

"In addition, it has the potential to catalyse enterprise and initiatives leading to the establishment of new types of business that have previously not been common in upland areas."

The document also touched on the importance of bringing mobile communications to rural communities, and said it hoped that fibre deployments and Ofcom's 4G spectrum auctions will reduce coverage not-spots in rural locations.

"The rollout of fibre-based solutions in difficult to reach areas will potentially improve the availability of mobile networks, and make it more viable to provide wireless broadband services where they might otherwise not reach," the review said.

"The availability of additional spectrum is also important in achieving new mobile broadband services. and that is why the government has directed Ofcom to run an auction of suitable spectrum as soon as possible."