news & talk in the community

Defra has launched the Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF), with confirmed funding of £20m.

The RCBF is jointly funded by Defra and BDUK and complements BDUK’s mainstream broadband rollout programme. The Fund will support superfast broadband projects in the 10% ‘hardest to reach’ areas, bringing superfast broadband to a greater number of communities than would otherwise be reached. This will ensure that a greater proportion of businesses and consumers in those communities can take advantage of the benefits of superfast broadband.

The fund is now open for expressions of interest, with an initial closing date of 31st January 2012. It is possible that a second round will be announced later in 2012.

For full details of how to apply, visit defra’s website.

For further information on the fund, including the Community Broadband Toolkit, visit the DCMS website.