Bellarena residents - act now on broadband

Living through another lockdown means fast and reliable broadband speeds are again front of mind. With families at home and more people needing to connect multiple devices simultaneously to the internet, ultrafast Full Fibre broadband is the perfect solution. Although speeds of up to 1000 Mbps are available, packages offering a 150 Mbps are a popular choice for streaming, gaming and connecting to home schooling apps.

Through its Community Fibre Partnership initiative, Openreach is working together with communities that are not currently included in any private or publicly financed build plans to bring futureproof, ultrafast Full Fibre broadband to homes and businesses in the area, at no cost to the community. Openreach build the new ultrafast Full Fibre broadband network but residents still receive their bill from their Communication Provider in the normal way, ensuring residents can choose the speed and price package that is right for them.

Properties in the CFP scheme are eligible for Government Gigbabit Vouchers which provide up to £3,500 for each SMEs, and up to £1,500 per residential premises to support the cost of installing new gigabit capable connections. Residents and businesses can join the scheme by pledging their vouchers, which are then combined with an investment from Openreach to create a fund which covers the cost of building the new infrastructure.

With just weeks left until the Bellarena scheme closes, it is important to act now and pledge your voucher as a funding target must be reached before Openreach can commence its build.

Alice Conn from Magilligan Community Group is a supporter of the scheme and is strongly urging residents to register their interest in the scheme to make sure they don’t get left behind.

Alice said: “62 homes and 10 businesses in Bellarena have already come forward and pledged their Government Gigabit voucher to the Community Fibre Partnership scheme, but we need more to sign up. The scheme closes on February 21 but enough people have to sign up before Openreach can start building the Full Fibre network.

“With the gigabit capable ultrafast Full Fibre broadband network, households and businesses will benefit from faster and more reliable broadband connections to stream, work or play. It would be a game-changer for the community here.”

To pledge your voucher, visit openreach.com/connectmycommunity.