Earlier this month I raised a query with the council's IT department on behalf of residents in Hesleden who had contacted me to ask about if and when fibre broadband provision would be available in the village.
This week I received a response from the Digital Durham Team at county hall confirming that full fibre broadband is scheduled to be available in the village by the end of next year. Please see the team's response below in full which includes alternative options residents might want to take up in the meantime:
Dear Cllr Crute
Thank you for your patience whilst we have made enquiries with
government department Building Digital UK (BDUK) regarding fibre broadband
provision to Hesleden.
BDUK have advised Hesleden village is currently included in
Openreach commercial full fibre plans for delivery by the end of 2026.
BDUK proactively monitor infrastructure providers future delivery
plans, and should these plans change, BDUK will then consider alternative
interventions to bring about gigabit-capable broadband as part of Project Gigabit.
Project Gigabit is the government's programme to enable hard to
reach communities to access fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband that are
outside of any future commercial plans. This work is part of the ongoing effort
towards the government’s target of 99% of UK premises being able to access
gigabit-capable broadband by 2030.
If residents need faster speeds now, they could consider an
interim alternative broadband solution such as Starlink satellite broadband that can offer high speed connectivity virtually
anywhere in the world. However, it is more expensive than fixed line solutions
and may not be affordable for some.
I hope you find this information useful. Please get in touch if you have any further questions.
