A local broadband volunteer has asked members of the public in the Allen Valley to register for the Government’s Gigabit voucher scheme before the 31st of March deadline.

Mike Robinson, a Broadband for the Allen Valleys Core Group volunteer, says that everyone eligible for the service should sign up in a bid to get super fast broadband to the area.

“We are desperate to get the message out to get people to register for the government’s Gigabit Voucher before it closes on the the 31st of March,” said Mike.

“We have built about a quarter of the network already that’s equal to nearly 400km of duct in the ground and it would be a shame to see the momentum slow up because a lack of funding.”

The B4AV group was created in 2017 with the aim of giving as many properties in the Allen Valleys area a fibre internet connection as possible, with each connection running at a huge 1000 Megabits per second.

As a result, the scheme offers some of the fastest broadband speeds currently available anywhere in the country - something that Mike wanted to emphasise ahead of the deadline closing.

“The speeds we can help you get are probably some of the fastest in the north east if not the whole of the UK,” added Mike.

“It’s community based broadband and as we’re all locals too - it shows we’re all just trying to help each other out.

“Something else that’s great about it is that it’s Broadband for the Rural North backed, so we want to try and show that we’re simply trying to help others in the area.

“The price of it too is a really good deal. Once it’s installed, it’s just £30 a month for the full fibre package - nearly all of the other providers in the area, which offer a lot slower speeds than us, are all closer to £50 a month.”

By signing up online, it means that more routes can be created to provide the broadand to a higher number of houses and locations, and Mike went on to explain that it is a real community driven project.

“Something we also want to add is that schools and churches in the area benefit from the connection for free,” he commented.

“For example, Allendale Primary have benefited from this recently and, especially at a time right now with Covid, is a real boost for a school such as them where they are.”

More information about the Broadband for the Allen Valleys Core Group project can be found at http://www.b4av.org/.