Noke residents pledge to raise fibre broadband funds

Residents of an Oxfordshire village have pledged to raise thousands of pounds to support the rollout of fibre optic broadband.

Villagers in Noke, which is around five miles north-east of Oxford, are seeking to generate funds of £67,000 to bring high-speed connectivity to 61 properties, reports the Oxford Mail.

Should they meet their target, they could unlock a further £83,000 in financial support from the government's Rural Community Broadband Fund - a programme established to finance the deployment of superfast speeds to harder-to-reach locations.

Without having their homes and businesses connected to fibre broadband, residents believe they will be left at a social and economic disadvantage compared to their counterparts in towns and cities.

Some locals have criticised BT for failing to include the village in previous commercial rollouts.

However, Paul Hayward - a spokesman for the telecoms giant - insisted: "No one has done more than BT to improve broadband speeds and connectivity across the UK."