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<p>Gigabit coverage in Ashfield has increased significantly in the past 12 months,
with 15.33% of premises able to access a gigabit-capable broadband service, compared
with 1.8% in September 2020. Additionally, 99.1% of premises in Ashfield have access
to superfast broadband (>30Mbps) in Ashfield, which exceeds the national average
of 96.9%</p><p>To date, the Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire (BBfN) scheme has
delivered 378 gigabit-capable FTTP connections across the constituency. The Hucknall
exchange has also been included with Openreach’s latest commercial announcement, with
delivery expected to be completed between now and April 2024.</p><p>We are backing
Project Gigabit with £5 billion so hard to reach communities are not left out. Nottinghamshire
falls within Phase 2 (Lot 10) of Project Gigabit. Preparations for Phase 2 are already
well underway and following the Open Market Review and Public Review, formal procurement
should start in November 2022 in Nottinghamshire.</p><p>Concurrently, premises in
rural areas may also be in line for funding through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher
Scheme, with up to £210m allocated to the scheme over the next four years to support
hard to reach communities. The voucher scheme offers up to £1,500 for homes and £3,500
for businesses to help to cover the costs of installing gigabit broadband to people’s
doorsteps when used as part of a group scheme. Home and business owners can check
the eligibility of their address and then look up suppliers in their area by going
to <a href="https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/</a>.</p><p>Nottinghamshire
has made good use of the scheme so far, seeing 135 voucher connections worth £340,030,
with a further 372 vouchers to be connected, totalling £948,290.</p>
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