BROADBAND customers in Wanborough who feared they would lose financial help from the Government to help pay for high speed connections because the deadline was close, have been reassured. 

The village is in the middle of a gigabit broadband rollout but villagers were told vouchers given out to encourage participation would expire soon.

An email from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to tell them that they only had four weeks left to connect to the new internet provided by Openreach or their vouchers would be null and void. 

It said: “We issued a UK Gigabit Voucher to your supplier on your behalf 11 months ago. Vouchers usually expire 12 months after the date of issue.

“We have written to Openreach today to tell them that unless they deliver the connection within four weeks your voucher will be cancelled.”

But Openreach is still laying the necessary cables and installing infrastructure. 

When people voiced their concern on social media borough councillor for the area Gary Sumner moved to offer reassurance.

“Some of you have been receiving emails saying that your gigabit pledge will expire shortly. Apparently pre-Covid this used to the case,” he said. 

“The limit was removed during Covid and the Wanborough/Chiseldon scheme started during that time.

“The limit has been re-introduced by the Government department, but Openreach are requesting extensions on each as we are ‘in build’ and they do not anticipate a problem.”

He advised people to ignore the emails because they didn’t apply to the area.

The upgrade has suffered delays because sections of the Swindon exchange that Openreach wanted to include are already in use by someone else. 

Coun Sumner added: We will share a further update after our next build meeting at the end of the month, but the previous problem of capacity at the exchange should be resolved in the next couple of weeks.

“The first few hundred premises for both Wanborough/Liddington and Chiseldon are targeted for residents to be able to place orders by by mid-February at the latest.”

The voucher grant scheme offers householders up to £1,500 and small or medium business up to £3,500 towards the cost of installing gigabit broadband. 

In order for Openreach to agree to do the work in the area, a minimum number of people had to pledge to move over to the new provider,and were provided with the vouchers as an incentive.