Better Broadband for Council homes – borough-wide full fibre plans announced
Tens of thousands of Hackney residents will be able to benefit from faster and more reliable internet services following a Council agreement with Community Fibre – one of London’s fastest and most affordable full fibre broadband providers – to bring better broadband to Council homes and estates.
This agreement is the first in a new Better Broadband programme, which will see Hackney Council working with full fibre broadband providers to roll out their networks to Hackney’s 200 Council estates and 30,000 Council homes, providing residents with access to the fastest available broadband.
The Council is working to remove barriers to delivery of full fibre broadband and to increase choice for Hackney’s residents and businesses. Providers will be able to access Council estates to connect their services on the basis that they serve as many homes as possible and will extend coverage to parts of the borough that currently have poor broadband service. Participating providers will also offer benefits and support for local communities and digitally excluded residents.
The agreement with Community Fibre includes providing full fibre broadband connections to local facilities including community halls, children’s centres, extra care housing for older people, and temporary accommodation hostels. The partnership will also provide a range of digital training, apprenticeship and job opportunities for Hackney residents, with some discounts available to digitally excluded households in financial hardship.
With the coronavirus pandemic highlighting the importance of good, reliable internet services as more people work from home and stay in touch with friends and family online, the Better Broadband programme will offer more choice to local residents to get high-quality broadband while connecting estates currently without the option of fast internet.
The past year has shown how important good internet services are to our residents, and it’s vital that those in Council homes don’t get left behind because the place they live suffers from poor connectivity.
That’s why we’re connecting Hackney by working with organisations to not only bring better broadband to our Council homes and community facilities, but also secure other benefits to support our most vulnerable residents and tackle digital exclusion.
This is a truly innovative partnership that puts local people first without a cost to the Council, and is a prime example of our long-term commitment to rebuild a better Hackney out of the coronavirus pandemic.
We are thrilled to announce our expansion to enable Hackney’s Council estates and Council homes with 100% full-fibre network offering gigabit-capable internet connectivity to their residents. With many now working from home, remote schooling, streaming TV or turning to online gaming for entertainment, good quality broadband has never been so vital to every aspect of our lives.
At Community Fibre, we believe that everyone deserves better broadband. Our approach will be crucial to help build a more inclusive digital future for Hackney and across London communities.
To find out more about Better Broadband in Hackney, visit hackney.gov.uk/broadband