High-quality resilient digital infrastructure is crucial for economic growth as well as boosting productivity and competitiveness. Digital infrastructure helps connect people to each other, people to businesses, and businesses to markets, forming a foundation for economic activity and community prosperity. Digital connectivity is unlocking new and previously unimaginable ways of working, and is now essential to facilitate public services, including healthcare and education.
The coronavirus pandemic has made internet access an essential condition of continued growth. Digital connectivity has become critical to the functioning of an economy, alongside water, electricity and food supply networks, with reliable connectivity an essential element of the economic recovery process and a vital component to ensure better health and wellbeing, education and employment for residents.
The Tees Valley Digital Strategy sets out our high-level ambition for digital infrastructure:
We will ensure affordable, high-quality digital infrastructure connecting people to each other, people to businesses, and businesses to markets, forming a foundation for economic activity and community prosperity, enabling the development of digital technologies, digitisation of business and investment.
Digital Infrastructure Rollout in the Tees Valley
The Tees Valley Combined Authority and five Tees Valley Local Authorities do not have any formal powers or devolved responsibilities in law related to digital connectivity, including broadband and wireless connectivity such as 4G and 5G. Digital connectivity is not a utility in law, it is delivered by commercial investment and private providers are left free to extend or not extend internet access based on commercial return. The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport has strategies in place to encourage private companies to widen internet access, such as Project Gigabit which should see a significant improvement in connectivity in our area and enable attention to then be focused on areas still facing poor internet access.
TVCA is continually engaging with government and commercial providers to encourage investment in digital connectivity in the Tees Valley.
Useful Links
To check broadband availability and speeds and connection options by inputting your postcode, click here.
The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme provides funding towards the cost of installing gigabit capable broadband to your home or business (when used as part of a group project).
The Broadband Universal Service Obligation means that if you can’t access a broadband service of more than 10Mbps download or 1Mbps upload, you may qualify for an upgrade.
