Application deadline for Govt's rural broadband fund extended

Application deadline for Govt's rural broadband fund extended

The Government has confirmed that it has extended the deadline for applications linked to its rural high speed broadband fund.

The £20 million joint Defra/Broadband Delivery UK Fund aims to enable rural communities to access highspeed broadband for their homes and places of work – in stark contrast to the limited access they had before.

Whilst applications were originally due to close at the end of last week, rural communities and local authorities will be pleased to hear that they now have until 17 June 2013 to apply for the funding.

The highspeed service aims to allow businesses and communities located in rural areas the chance to grow and profit, as it allows for far easier and more reliable communication and access to resources.

Communities and local authorities are allowed to place a bid for 50 per cent or more of the total costs related to installing highspeed broadband in their communities. The funding will be used to allow infrastructures to be constructed which would allow superfast broadband to be rolled out.

Richard Benyon, Environment Minister, told the Rye and Battle Observer: “Rural broadband is crucial to getting the economy moving and businesses growing. Funding is still available and I don’t want communities to miss out on this great opportunity.

“Superfast broadband is transforming the lives of rural businesses and communities by helping them tap into new markets, get better exposure and save time in their working day”, Mr Benyon added.

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