CCS supports launch of rural broadband schemes in UK and US

CCS welcomes the announcement by the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that 50,000 rural Welsh homes and businesses may be eligible for broadband upgrades thanks to a new collaboration between the UK and Welsh governments.  The scheme will help cover the upfront costs of installing new gigabit-capable internet connections, with the maximum funding available through each voucher now doubled to £7,000 for SMEs and £3,000 for residential premises.

Our Metnet 60G solution has been deployed to enable Gigabit broadband for homes in rural areas including the trial in Monmouthshire in Wales as part of an innovative DCMS-backed 5G Pilot, delivered last year by our partners Broadway Partners, and we welcome this new collaboration and expanded scheme to boost the connectivity of even more rural communities in Wales.

In the US, our partner ADTRAN has today announced the launch of the industry’s broadest portfolio of broadband access solutions available for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program, plus the introduction of RDOF Technical Assistance for service providers looking to bid in the 2020 auction. This represents the world’s largest broadband stimulus programme to bring high-speed broadband to rural America. ADTRAN’s announcement notes that “according to the FCC, there are approximately 19 million Americans who still lack high-speed internet access. RDOF will provide $20.4 billion in funding over 10 years to encourage and support broadband delivery in rural communities across the country. Phase I will target nearly 5.5 million homes and businesses that were previously unserved by voice and broadband speeds of at least 25Mbps. The first auction is scheduled for October 29, 2020, with the short-form application window open from July 1 to July 15, 2020.”

CCS’s Metnet 60G mesh millimeter wave Fixed Wireless Access technology is well-placed to play a key role in delivering the fibre extension solutions to realise the RDOF program ambitions.  If you’d like to find out more, just get in touch with us.