The UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme is the latest Government initiative to help homes and businesses in rural areas install a gigabit-capable* full fibre connection when part of a group scheme. This means two or more residents and/or businesses get together to combine vouchers towards the shared cost of installation.
Background
Since vouchers were first introduced by Government in 2018, they have been a key tool in incentivising and encouraging suppliers to connect some of the hardest to reach premises in the UK.
To date, the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme has committed over £137m to support gigabit connectivity to more than 72,000 households and small to medium-sized businesses. The Government's Gigabit Connection Voucher Schemes have committed around £1.3 million to Northampton benefitting 600 businesses and local residents.
Relaunch in March 2021
The UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme (UKGV) was re-launched in March 2021 (£210m) and provides complementary support for connectivity to unserved premises.
In November 2022, BDUK announced upgrades to the scheme to target premises in particularly hard to reach areas.
Vouchers
The voucher scheme now provides an increased subsidy of up to £4,500 for eligible residents and businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband via local community broadband projects.
Please note that the UKGV scheme will pause in areas which are the subject of a wider Project Gigabit procurement, once that procurement is underway, and until contracts are awarded. This impacts parts of North Northants which fall within Lot 5 and those parts of North and West Northants which fall within Lot 12.
Find out more and check eligibility
To find out more about the UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme and to check eligibility please visit the
UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme web site.
Check eligibility on the Voucher site by scrolling down to the postcode checker. Enter your postcode and it will allow you to choose an address. If eligible for a Gigabit Voucher you will be able to see a list of active suppliers in your area to approach.
If you know of a supplier, they must be on the long list of suppliers registered for the scheme, but they are not flagged as active in your locality, you can still make enquiries of them in the first instance to determine interest.
Government guidance for community groups can be found on the
government guidance web page.
Definition of Gigabit capable
*Gigabit-capable means that the connection can handle speeds of 1,000 Megabits per second but users only sign up to a speed of service they need or can afford. As demand increases, users can choose to buy a higher speed broadband service as required.