Work to get the Digital Dales Fibre GarDen up and running will start on October 5 in the quest to bring broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps to the Yorkshire Dales.
The initiative aims to bring superfast broadband to areas within the yorkshire Dales and has been funded by the Government’s £20 million RCBF (Rural Community Broadband Fund) and £35,000 from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Sustainable Development Fund.
Digital Dales Fibre Garden is set to be completed in August 2015 when a 64km network will connect rural parts of Garsdale and Dentdale with a FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) system.
Tony Roberts, one of the leaders of the campaign to get the Cumbrian towns connected said: “With all the funding in place, thanks to many of you who have become shareholders, as well as the external grants and loans, we are able to commence implementation of the network.”
Digital Dales will be holding two events in the coming weeks to explain more about the initiative, including information about section digs and broadband speeds available in each area.
Fibre GarDen is currently the only other non-BT Rural Community Broadband Fund project, other than Gigaclear that has received funding from the Government.
Other recipients of RCBF money include Rothbury in Northumberland and the Digital Durham BDUK (Broadband Delivery for the UK) scheme.
B4RN, a rural broadband project based in nearby Lancashire is close to connecting its 600th customer to gigabit fibre and has so far not received any money from RCBF or BDUK.
When the network is up and running, locals will be paying £30 per month for a 30Mbps connection or £50 for 100Mbps. Each option includes a phone service, although they can upgrade it for better quality calls by paying an extra £2 a month.
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