More than £100 million has been invested in new connections in projects overseen by the council over the past decade, bringing superfast broadband to more than 200,000 homes and businesses (the vast majority) in North Yorkshire.
The central government is currently overseeing the £5bn Project Gigabit, which aims to roll out gigabit broadband to the hardest-to-reach homes.
This equates to 5 million properties, mostly in rural areas, including 11,000 in North Yorkshire.
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Council Leader Kerr Leth, director of the council-owned broadband company NYnet and manager of the recently completed Superfast North Yorkshire programme, said: Give every home and business access to ultra-fast broadband connectivity.
“There should be no technology gap between urban and rural areas, meaning that just where you live puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to properly accessing the internet.”
Cllr Mark Crane, Open for Business executive member and responsible for broadband, said:
“This requires superfast broadband in every home and business, and the government must ensure this happens.”
North Yorkshire Council’s efforts to bridge the gap between rural and urban broadband provision have been praised by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).
North Director Harriet Ranson said: 'Rural businesses and communities need assurance from government about when, where and how services will be improved. , or people visiting rural areas, rely on good connectivity for social interaction and information.
“Rural businesses that need to operate online booking platforms, sell products and purchase supplies, access remote training for employees, use remote sensors to monitor crops and habitat, interact with government, etc. This is essential.”
More than £100m has been invested in the Superfast North Yorkshire project from a variety of sources.
The grants were obtained from Building Digital UK, part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Openreach. Masu. .
Despite the launch of NYnet and an £85m investment in broadband services, digital connectivity remains a major challenge.
However, North Yorkshire Council added that the Superfast North Yorkshire project is helping to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas.
