Helping Rural Communities
Connecting the community to the network
Helping Other Rural Communities
Hampshire Community Broadband (HCB) was founded in 2018 by a group of North Hampshire residents who saw an urgent need for better connectivity in their rural area. With no broadband services available from national providers, the community came together to create a solution that would serve their needs. What started as a self-help initiative to connect 190 businesses and homes has now expanded to serve approximately 600 properties, with 500 active connections—thanks to the full support of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS).
From the outset, HCB relied on the collective strength of the community. Landowners granted wayleaves free of charge, local residents invested in the project, and volunteers dedicated their time to raising funds, overseeing network construction, securing customers, and managing the company.
As the company matures, we're gradually replacing voluntary roles with contractors, but the core of HCB remains deeply rooted in community collaboration.
Empowering communities to take charge of their own connectivity
HCB believes that rural areas, no matter how remote, can take control of their digital futures.
We actively encourage neighbouring communities to organise and expand the network under our umbrella or create entirely new networks.
While our expansion is currently on pause due to the National Procurement Programme (which is tackling broadband rollout in urban and hard-to-reach rural areas), we are certain that community-driven efforts will be key to bridging the digital divide.
We want to help other rural communities follow the same path we’ve taken. If your community lacks fast, reliable Full-Fibre-to-Premises (FFTP) connections, HCB recommends taking these six steps to assess the feasibility of building a network:
1
Identify current network status
Does your community have at least 20 new connections or 33% take-up from existing homes for an adjacent fibre network? For a remote area, you may need approximately 50 new connections or 50% take-up to make a new network viable.
2
Assess community investment & government voucher availability
What is the level of investment available from your community? Small rural networks typically require about £5,000 per connection (without existing backhaul). Check if your area qualifies for government voucher funding and whether local residents are willing to finance or part-finance the cost of installation.
3
Identify cable routes and landowner support
Are there viable rural cable routes, and are landowners willing to grant wayleaves for free or without financial reward?
4
Build a strong volunteer team
Does your community have a strong team of volunteers ready to take on key roles? A project manager is critical to keeping costs under control and ensuring the project stays on track.
5
Understand backhaul options
What are the backhaul options? - Is there buried fibre in the area that you can connect to easily.
Engage with an Altnet or national provider
6
Source suitable providers
Approach suitable alternative network providers (Altnet's like Hampshire Community Broadband) or national broadband providers to gauge their interest in building the network.
Options to finance that should be explored include government vouchers and locally raised investment which could have favourable tax breaks (for example, the Enterprise Investment Scheme) and priority loan repayments.
By taking these steps, communities can begin the process of securing future-proof, reliable broadband, even in the most rural areas.
HCB’s commitment to support you
At HCB, we are committed to supporting other communities that are on the journey toward Full-Fibre-to-Premises (FFTP) connections. We have the experience and expertise to help guide you through the process. Whether it's expanding your own local network or creating a new one, we’re happy to support you.
HCB has the capacity to add more customers without compromising service to our existing users.
If you’re interested in bringing faster, more reliable internet to your area, we’d love to talk to you.
So, what’s stopping your community? Get in touch and discover how we can help you bring fast, reliable broadband to your rural homes and businesses.