Digital Rutland is a partnership project between Rutland County Council, Broadband Delivery UK and British Telecommunications Plc (BT) that's connecting homes and businesses in towns and villages across the county to fibre broadband.
Broadband Roll out Progress
Phase 1 of the Digital Rutland project connected around 9,600 homes and businesses to fibre broadband with the majority of these having access to superfast broadband speeds. This phase has included premises in:
- Ashwell
- Ayston
- Barleythorpe
- Barnsdale
- Barrow
- Barrowden
- Belmesthorpe
- Belton
- Bisbrooke
- Caldecott
- Clipsham
- Cottesmore
- Edith Weston
- Empingham
- Greetham
- Glaston
- Ketton
- Lyndon
- Manton
- Market Overton
- Morcott
- Normanton
- Oakham
- North Luffenham
- Preston
- Ridlington
- Seaton
- South Luffenham
- Stocken
- Stretton
- Teigh
- Thistleton
- Tixover
- Wardley
- Whissendine
- Whitwell
- Wing
Phase 2 deployment is now complete and has connected some further 970 premises to Fibre Broadband with the majority of these at superfast broadband speeds. This phase has included premises in parts of:
- Barnsdale
- Braunston
- Egleton
- Exton
- Gunthorpe
- Langham/Ashwell
- Little Casterton
- Oakham
- Pickworth
- Pilton
- Normanton
- Ryhall
- Tinwell
- Tickencote
- Wardley
- Whissendine
Together, Phases 1 and 2 of Digital Rutland have provided access to around 10,600 homes and businesses in Rutland.
Along with commercial provision, this means approximately 95% of premises in the county are now able to access fibre broadband, the majority of these at superfast speeds.
Phase 3 of the Digital Rutland project is due to commence in September 2018 bringing superfast broadband to over 500 more premises in Rutland. Subject to full planning and survey this phase will include premises in parts of :
- Ayston
- Belmesthorpe
- Brooke
- Barnsdale
- Braunston
- Burley
- Edit Weston
- Exton
- Great Casterton
- Greetham
-
- Ketton
- Langham
- Lyndon
- Manton
- Morcott
- Newstead
- Pickworth
- Ridlington
- Ryhall
- South Luffenham
- Stretton
- Tinwell
- Tixover
- Uppingham
- Whissendine
- Wing
Commercial Coverage
In Rutland Superfast Broadband has been provided by commercial suppliers including BT, Rutland Telecom/Gigaclear, Millennium and SeetheLight.
This coverage plus the Digital Rutland project coverage means that the majority of our residents and business now have access to Superfast Broadband (defined as speeds greater than 24Mbps).
How do I know if I have access to Fibre Broadband?
The quickest way to determine if you have currently have access to a fibre service is to check your phone, address and postcode details on the BT Broadband Availability Checker.
You can also check fibre broadband availability on the BT website.
Ordering Fibre
You will need to contact your/an Internet Service Provider (ISP) if you want to sign up for fibre broadband. This will NOT happen automatically. However our handy 5 Step Easy Guide to ordering Fibre helps you understand the process and questions you should be asking.
Your Broadband Speed
The Ofcom Voluntary Business and Residential Broadband Speeds Codes of Practice aims to provide business and residential customers purchasing standard broadband services with transparent and accurate information on their broadband speeds. The Code is a voluntary commitment from the Internet Service Providers who are signatories to the Code. They undertake to provide accurate and transparent speed information at point of sale, manage customers’ speed related problems, and allow customers to exit the contract without penalty if speeds fall below a minimum threshold. This document outlines the detailed commitments of the Internet Service Providers who have signed up to the Code.
You can best check your broadband download speeds by connecting your PC or laptop directly to the router. There are a number of sites where you can run a free test to compare speeds on different days and different times of the day
http://www.speedtest.btwholesale.com/
https://www.bt.com/help/home/broadband/speedtest/
Superfast Broadband Benefits
Superfast broadband will make it possible for people to make video calls, watch TV/movies online, as well downloading music in seconds. It will also benefit local businesses who will be much better placed to exploit new technologies.
Find out more about how superfast broadband works and the benefits at home and benefits to business of superfast broadband.
Remaining Hard to Reach Areas and Premises
The straightforward infrastructure upgrades have taken place and work on Phase 2 has completed. We are currently reviewing our options to extend superfast fibre broadband roll out to the remaining 5% of the County. We will update you on our plans shortly.
Better Broadband Scheme
As we reach out further into rural areas not all premises can be provided with a fibre solution.
To assist those who are currently receiving a sub 2Mpb service we are working with Broadband Delivery UK to provide assistance through the Better Broadband Voucher Scheme. For more details please visit the Better Broadband Subsidy Scheme page on this site.
Community Fibre Partnership
Residents interested in helping their communities to get better broadband speeds sooner may wish to look into community funding a solution via BT’s Community Fibre Partnership (CFP) programme.
Registering for a Community Fibre Partnership enables you and us to find out more about potential solutions and there may be opportunities for match funding from Digital Rutland. BT is also looking at how the scheme can address areas with both poor broadband and poor 4G mobile coverage.
Register your interest
Guidance for communities considering aggregating Better Broadband Subsidy Scheme codes as part of a Community Fibre Partnership Scheme can be found on our Better Broadband Page.
If you community is interested in exploring the Community Partnership Option and has registered with the Community Fibre Programme, please contact the Digital Rutland team by email digitalrutland@rutland.gov.uk.
Case Studies - We need Your help
Our businesses are already reporting benefits of Superfast Broadband. You can read some of our case studies.
We are keen to compile more case studies from businesses and residents who have benefited from the fibre roll out under Digital Rutland. Download our case study template today and send your story to: digitalrutland@rutland.gov.uk
Contact Us
We realise you may have questions about Digital Rutland. Please email your enquiry to digitalrutland@rutland.gov.uk and include your name, email, postcode and telephone number (mobile and landline). Other ways of keeping in touch are by following us on Twitter @digitalrutland
