Plans for Full Fibre Broadband ‘In Full Swing’ Says MP
Dehenna Davison MP is hopeful about promising plans to deliver fibre broadband to residents in Ovington, Hutton Magna and Wycliffe.
On Friday [15th January] Dehenna Davison MP met with representatives from Digital Durham to discuss plans that could deliver full fibre broadband in Ovington, Hutton Magna and Wycliffe by the end of 2021. On the call with Digital Durham, a part of Durham County Council that help to drive the availability of fast broadband connectivity, Dehenna and residents were given a presentation from supplier Factco about a proposal to deliver full fibre broadband to every resident and business in Ovington, Hutton Magna and Wycliffe.
Dehenna Davison MP said:
“I stood on an election pledge to improve broadband, with places live Ovington and Hutton Magna in mind. I am so pleased to see plans to better local broadband already in full swing. With so many of us now working from home, broadband should be considered as important a utility as electricity or water, so it is imperative we improve access to good quality broadband connections.
"This is something the Government remains committed to, with the Chancellor announcing a £5 billion package to support the rollout of better broadband coverage. I am glad to see the local council taking advantage of the gigabit broadband scheme and hope to see plans in action very soon so that residents in Ovington, Hutton Magna, and Wycliffe can finally get properly connected.”
The Bishop Auckland MP and residents were shown a presentation detailing how Digital Durham and FACTO plans to improve broadband coverage and speed. Plans included using the vouchers provided under the Government Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), alongside Durham County Council Top-Up funding , seeing broadband improved where there is currently poor to no coverage.
David Bottoms, a resident on the call said:
“The communities surrounding Hutton Magna, Ovington and Wycliffe suffered months of frustration trying unsuccessfully to progress eligible applications for fast fibre broadband through the government’s USO scheme administered by BT.
“We are now most grateful to our MP Dehenna Davison and Digital Durham for brokering a free-to--end-user installation solution which looks most promising. In the current COVID climate that requires on-line schooling, and when sons and daughters can only see elderly parents in care homes via on-line technologies, the need for fast broadband is of paramount importance and we are glad someone has sat up and taken notice at last. We look forward to working in harmony with Dehenna, Durham County Council’s Digital Durham team and GBVS registered supplier FACTCO to make this a huge success.”
In December last year the Chancellor pledged £5 billion to support the rollout of gigabit capable broadband in the hardest to reach areas of the country, which will be supported by new legislation to accelerate its delivery to millions of homes. The Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport launched the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme in 2018, designed to encourage broadband service providers to build full-fibre networks in the UK for small to medium-sized businesses and nearby residents when part of a group scheme.
Lee Murphy, Managing Director of FACTCO said:
“In conjunction with Durham County Council and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, we are working with the community to explore options in relation to delivering full fibre broadband. We started planning this week. Once completed, the network will provide residents and businesses up to 1000Mb broadband speed”.
