Ultrafast broadband speeds may soon be available to residents in Bellingham.

The village has been chosen to receive full-fibre gigabit broadband as part of the government’s rural broadband voucher scheme.

WeFibre will be providing the service to the village and they offer speeds of 1000Mbps download and upload, up to 14x faster than the UK average download speed and up to 64x faster than the average upload speed.

Bellingham Parish Council said the fastest speeds in the area currently are around a maximum of 70Mbps download and 17Mbps upload, depending on residents’ provider and package.

The project has been made possible by Rural Gigabit vouchers, which is a scheme run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

In May 2019, the programme launched its second wave of funding to support the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses in rural areas of the UK when part of a group scheme.

Last August, DCMS announced 45,000 vouchers, worth more than £90m, had been issued.

Suppliers of the scheme request the voucher on behalf of their customers.

For WeFibre to proceed with the project, they need 100 rural gigabit voucher claims by March 31 to have enough funding to build the new network in Bellingham. The vouchers are worth £1,500 per home and up to £3,500 for each small to medium-sized business.

The company are offering 1000Mbps upload and download for £20 per month on a 12 month plan, or £30 per month on a 30 day rolling plan for residential and small business customers.

Residents can also try the fibre network for free for 30 days with no commitment.

The government voucher also gives residents free installation.

If you live in Bellingham and want to apply for a voucher, you can visit wefibre.com/grants.