RESIDENTS stuck in broadband “not-spots” across Devon are being urged to secure cash to help get them connected before a looming deadline.

The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), part of a national effort by the government to improve broadband connectivity, was supposed to end last year, but has been extended until August.

That is the deadline for applications to the scheme to be made, with any work required to connect the relevant homes or businesses to broadband needing to be completed by March 31, 2028.

The topic of poor rural broadband was raised by a Devon County Council committee, which agreed to lobby Westminster for a more robust and long-term national policy that could better support counties like Devon.

Devon suffered a blow towards the end of 2024 when the publicly funded organisation Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) confirmed that Airband, the firm it had hired to provide fibre broadband to 55,493 homes and businesses, would only connect half that number.

The county council’s corporate infrastructure and regulatory services scrutiny committee heard that the current voucher scheme’s end was nearing fast without any prospect of it being superseded by something else.

While the wider Project Gigabit aims to improve connectivity through major contracts, GBVS focuses on providing grants for residents and business that can be accumulated towards the cost of the network build where larger commercial suppliers are unlikely to operate.

But while a trio of suppliers in Devon are trying to connect rural and hard-to-reach premises with the help of voucher cash, the committee acknowledged there was a lack of cohesive effort to get residents to club together.

“The voucher scheme is the only game in town and it is time-limited with no prospect of extension, so this is quite a crux point,” said Councillor Simon Rake (Liberal Democrat, Dartmouth and Marldon), the committee’s vice chair.

Councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin (Liberal Democrat, Torrington Rural), the cabinet member for rural affairs and broadband, acknowledged broadband was “essential to everyday life”.

“Without good broadband people are at a huge disadvantage,” she said.

“It is not a luxury as it supports education, it is essential in schools, supporting children and young people to study and conduct research, while it allows businesses and farmers to trade online and access new markets.

“And in terms of healthcare, residents are increasingly relying on online GP appointments, repeat prescriptions and remote monitoring [of health conditions], not to mention it helps people stay in touch with family and friends.”

The report to the committee noted that Devon had been one of the most successful areas in securing funding from previous voucher schemes, adding that so-called superfast coverage (at least 30 megabytes per second) should hit 94 per cent in Devon by 2027 but 35,000 premises remaining below that level.

Gigabit coverage in Devon stands at 75 per cent, with projections of this rising to 83 per cent by 2028.

“This is likely to mean coverage in Devon will fall short of the national target of 99 per cent gigabit coverage by 2032,” the report said.