December 17, 2015 3.43 pm This story is over 98 months old

Remote Lincoln homes could benefit from subsidised satellite broadband

Getting online: Homes and businesses could benefit from subsidised satellite broadband if they meet the requirements.

Homes and businesses in the most remote areas around the county will now be able to benefit from subsidised satellite broadband connections if they are unable to obtain an affordable broadband service of at least 2mbps.

This is part of a new government scheme which has been rolled out over December 2015 to make sure that every home and business in the UK can access speeds of at least 2mbps by the end of the year.

Some 300,000 properties across the UK are expected to benefit from the offer.

A code, which will be provided by local authorities, could provide a reduction in the cost of installation, commissioning and 12 monthly subscriptions by around £350.

Residents and businesses will be responsible for paying any remaining cost of installation and commissioning, choosing the features of the satellite broadband service they require, and for paying the monthly subscription for the service they selected.

The current rollout of superfast broadband is on track to deliver coverage to 95% of the UK by 2017 but the government want to help those with the slowest connections by providing an immediate boost to their available speeds ahead of any future improvements planned.

Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey said: “Our rollout of superfast broadband has already reached an additional 3.5 million homes and businesses who would otherwise have missed out.

“We are making tremendous progress, but it’s a massive engineering project and won’t happen overnight. This scheme offers immediate assistance to those homes and businesses in Lincolnshire with the slowest speeds and is all part of our transformation of the UK’s digital landscape.”

More information on the operation of the scheme in Lincolnshire can be found on the Broadband Programme website.