Hundreds of remote Northumberland homes and businesses receive improved broadband

The installation of new gigabit-capable broadband in Northumberland by county company Alncom will help around 200 businesses and homes.

According to the company, “the ultra-fast broadband will make this part of rural Northumberland one of the best-connected places in Britain”.

Alncom, whose head office is in Alnwick, has just completed laying more than 10 kilometres of fibre cable with large mole machinery across an area covering Preston, Doxford and West Fallodon.

This will bring speeds capable of around one gigabit or 1,000 megabits to houses and businesses on the route.

The scheme has been funded through a combination of the Government’s Rural Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, Northumberland County Council’s Borderlands Top Up Scheme and Alncom itself.

The company’s managing director, Stephen Pinchen, said afterwards: “The timing is more important than ever as we enter the second lockdown.

"We have connected a full fibre network to some of the most rural properties in Northumberland, that previously have only had extremely slow copper wire connections.

"We’ve negotiated road and river crossings, barely leaving a mark on the land, that will transform these businesses and homes and especially for those now working from home.”

The company specialises in rural and “off grid” homes across the North East in some of the most inaccessible areas of the region.

Its business development manager, John Parker, added: “When we say rural, we really mean rural.

"Where other companies have given up, we accept every challenge which can literally mean jumping on to quad bikes or using drones to survey an area from every angle.

"We can be found climbing the steepest hills and working our way into really inaccessible areas.

"Being privately owned, we know many of the people we are helping, so where others fail, we go the extra mile to help get them connected.”

From farmers to whole villages and businesses, Alncom’s success stories have included the most remote valleys in Northumberland from College Valley to the border with County Durham and beyond.

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