Broadband for the Rural North: Connecting Communities with Gigabit Fibre

Connecting rural communities to high-speed internet is a game-changer, and it's not just about keeping up with the times – it's about bridging the gap and creating opportunities.

Gigabit fibre is the key to unlocking this potential, offering speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second, which is roughly 200 times faster than the average UK broadband speed.

This technology has the power to transform rural communities, enabling remote work, online education, and access to vital services like healthcare and shopping.

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Funding for Broadband for the Rural North projects comes from various sources. One way is through the UK Gigabit Voucher programme, run by DSIT, which provides government funding for gigabit broadband projects.

The UK Gigabit Voucher programme has been instrumental in supporting rural broadband initiatives. For instance, CityFibre has won five new Project Gigabit contracts, which will subsidise infrastructure roll-out to over 202,000 hard-to-reach homes and businesses across rural areas in the UK's southern counties and Midlands.

Local community investment is also a crucial source of funding. Broadband for the Rural North Ltd often raises the shortfall in a project's build cost through local community investment. This shows that the community is committed to bringing high-speed broadband to their area.

Grants from charities and trusts are another way to secure funding for rural broadband projects. Many local groups apply for grants to cover their project costs, which can be a significant help in getting projects off the ground.

Here's a breakdown of the UK's gigabit broadband progress:

B4RN typically engages with community groups on the scale of a parish, planning and building the network for the whole area to ensure everyone has access to the service.

B4RN's model involves meeting with locals to explain how the broadband service can be provided. If the community wants to bring B4RN to the village, they will work together to plan the network, including where the cabinet will go and what land it will cross.

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To promote B4RN to residents, community groups will encourage people to sign up for the service. This will help raise demand and get more people involved in the project.

Landowners play a crucial role in the process, providing free wayleaves for installing the network across their land. This helps keep the network overheads down and makes it more affordable for the community.

B4RN will estimate the cost of installing the network, and the community group will set about raising capital through community shares. Government gigabit voucher funding is also contributing significantly to the build cost, so the community only has to raise the shortfall.

Here's a step-by-step overview of the B4RN process:

Once there is sufficient demand, permissions in place, and funding secured, B4RN contractors supported by volunteers will start the installation.

B4RN has made significant progress in spreading its network to rural areas in the UK. As of January 2023, the network has reached the Lune Valley in North Lancashire.

B4RN's geographical spread is quite impressive, covering various regions in the UK. The network has expanded to North Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales, South Cumbria and the Lake District, Eden Valley in Cumbria, Allen Valleys in Northumberland, South Norfolk, and Cheshire.

The network's reach is not limited to these areas, with the goal of bringing full-fiber connectivity to the rural north of the UK. B4RN aims to fill the gap in rural areas where suitable connectivity is lacking.

Here's a breakdown of the regions B4RN has reached so far:

B4RN has been bringing broadband to rural communities across the North of England. The organization has a unique approach to planning and building the network, which involves working closely with local community groups.

B4RN typically engages with community groups on the scale of a parish, with the goal of bringing the service to every household in the area. This approach has been successful in many areas, including Allen Valleys, Arkholme, and Abbeystead.

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Some of the places where B4RN is currently live or planning the network include:

B4RN has received national recognition for its work, including being named 'Broadband Provider of the Year' and 'Community Improvement Award' at the Connected Britain Awards in 2022.

B4RN is a rural broadband provider that has connected around 5,000 properties to its own network of over 3,000km of fibre optic cables. This network is capable of providing internet connections that are 30 times faster than super-fast broadband.

The majority of the network has been funded by local residents investing over £5 million in shares in the company, giving them a strong asset base to generate recurring revenues.

B4RN operates in an area of high demand from customers and is providing new infrastructure which is a key part of the government's future telecoms strategy. This is a great example of community-led initiative making a real difference in rural areas.

B4RN's network covers a vast area, with the following places either live on B4RN or planning or building the network:

In 2023, B4RN is upgrading its core network to 400G, creating a ring around the north of the UK between Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds. This will be lit by Smartoptics 400G fiber optics, delivering up to 16TB worth of traffic in the backbone network.

Future-proofing is crucial for rural broadband networks, and B4RN is taking a proactive approach. They're upgrading their core network to 400G in 2023, which will deliver up to 16TB of traffic.

This upgrade will create a ring around the north of the UK, covering a vast stretch of rural areas. The new dark fiber will extend 650 km, connecting Manchester, Newcastle, and Leeds.

B4RN chose Smartoptics 400G fiber optics for this upgrade, which will ensure maximum cost efficiency. The Smartoptics open line systems along with 10G and 400G optics will be future-proof for at least seven years until 2030.

This upgrade will provide the rural north with more than enough bandwidth for years to come, according to Tom from B4RN.

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