Independent broadband provider Wessex Internet has revealed that rural towns and villages in the New Forest are benefitting from a £14m investment under the £5bn scheme.
This comes just days after the UK’s leading comms provider Openreach announced that it has won a contract worth £800m to modernise broadband infrastructure in rural areas of England, Scotland and Wales under the UK government’s Project Gigabit programme.
The Project Gigabit programme was introduced in 2021 with the aim of accelerating the UK’s recovery from Covid-19; firing up high-growth sectors such as tech and the creative industries; and levelling up the country, spreading wealth and creating jobs across the country. On its launch, the previous government said it would prioritise areas with slow connections that would otherwise be left behind in commercial broadband companies’ plans and give rural communities access to the fastest internet on the market, helping to grow the economy.
Now under Project Gigabit, Wessex Internet has started to connect residential and business customers in Sway and Brockenhurst to its full-fibre broadband network, a deployment that the altnet says will see more than 10,500 properties connected to faster, more reliable gigabit-capable broadband. Work to extend their ultrafast network to communities in Hordle, Setley, Bisterne and Tyrrell will soon be completed.
The gigabit roll-out will continue over the next two years, targeting other harder-to-reach rural areas of the New Forest that, without government investment, would have missed out on faster speeds, said the altnet.
Falling into the deployment’s catchment area are the workshops, studios and galleries of New Forest-based charity SPUD, which aims to engage communities through a broad programme of art, design, ecology and architecture. SPUD events being supported by Wessex Internet in 2024 include a video project made by young people and is being shown on a 180-degree screen as part of Hampshire Open Studios; the Art Angels Showcase in September where amateur artists who have attended workshops at SPUD over the year will share their work; and a joint initiative with the New Forest National Park Authority to support SPUD’s flagship Open Exhibition in December, which will attract work from artists across the region.
Explaining the commitments of the partnership, Wessex Internet CEO Hector Gibson Fleming said: “Alongside our passion to connect rural communities that are often overlooked, other big differences between Wessex Internet and traditional providers are that we work in partnership with the communities we will connect before we even build our network, and that we seek to support organisations that make an ongoing impact in those communities…
“[The] inspiring and eclectic Spudworks base in Sway hosts exhibitions by a range of local, national and international artists; has workshops used by community groups including dementia support activities, art taster sessions and youth projects; provides affordable studio space for emerging artists; and houses their small team of staff.
“It was clear to us that their busy site – which includes digital screens and artists working with video footage – was stifled by a slow and unreliable traditional internet connection, so we have provided them with a full-fibre business package for a nominal £1 per month, saving them £1,200 each year. As well as providing this cutting-edge connectivity that will support all their artists and initiatives for years to come, we are also sponsoring some of their upcoming events.”
SPUD director and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Mark Drury, added: “Improved, high-speed connectivity will help those working at the Spudworks base in Sway to work on a range of digital initiatives, especially audio and visual work. It also allows us to video conference with partners and artists around the world and bring our work to a wider audience.
“We are delighted to have the support of Wessex Internet with a number of upcoming exhibitions that celebrate our local community of artists at Spudworks, and we hope we can develop a strong partnership for the future.”
