The Council Champions Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

January 11, 2019

The Council is pleased to announce that hundreds of businesses and homes across the Lisburn Castlereagh area are set to benefit from faster internet connections, following the launch of the UK Government’s nationwide £67m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme.

Gigabit vouchers can be used by small businesses and the local communities surrounding them to contribute to the installation cost of a gigabit-capable connection. Businesses can claim up to £2,500 against the cost of connection either individually or as part of a group project. Residents can benefit from the scheme with a voucher worth £500 as part of a group project.

In November 2018 the maximum amount claimed for a business voucher was reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 to make sure that the scheme reaches even more people with full fibre connectivity.

Alderman William Leathem, Chair of the Council’s Development Committee is backing the initiative: “The Council is fully aware of the connection and line capacity problems limiting some of its residents and local businesses.  It believes the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme will play a key role in enhancing broadband speed locally, making businesses more competitive, and improving the overall experience for domestic users. 95% of the UK already has access to superfast speeds (24Mbps or faster), but these vouchers could help those without access to this, narrowing the digital gap further.”

Full fibre connections are faster, more reliable and cheaper to operate than traditional copper lines, and are capable of supporting not only gigabit, but terabit, which will serve the UK far into the future.

The scheme forms part of the Government’s pledge to make full fibre broadband accessible to at least 10 million homes and businesses by 2022, having already assigned £200m to the Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme.

The UK Government scheme will run until March 2021 or until all available funding has been allocated. The scheme is only accessible through broadband service providers, so if you are interested in receiving a voucher, please check out the following website: https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/