Help with high speed broadband

Some of the most rural parts of Derbyshire could get help from the county council to access high speed broadband.

The authority say it is investing £500,000 to 'top-up' the government's Gigabit Broadband voucher scheme, which helps people in hard-to-reach locations get a fast, reliable broadband service.

The extra funding will double the amount of financial support that eligible households and businesses with broadband speeds of less than 100Mbps in rural parts of Derbyshire are entitled to and will help pay for installing faster and more reliable connections.

It means these premises, providing they are not already in a government-funded plan for a broadband upgrade, can apply for up to £3,000 per household and up to £7,000 per small to medium-sized business.

The council's investment is in addition to its existing Digital Derbyshire programme - a multi-million pound partnership with UK Government and Openreach which has made better, faster broadband available to more than 102,000 premises across the county.

To apply residents and businesses can visit the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme website at www.gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk to find a list of suppliers in their local area.