Dryden estate, Southey Green, Sheffield, lined up for cheap broadband pilot to tackle ‘digital poverty’

The scheme has been drawn up after the national computer software company WANdisco plc became aware of problems accessing broadband among hard-up residents when it was involved with the laptops for schools project during lockdown.

It will be rolled out in late summer or autumn on the Dryden estate in Southey Green.

A collection of private and public organisations will be paying for the project, including the Lottery-funded SY-NC, a youth and community service provider, and the David and Jane Richards Family Foundation, a Sheffield-based charity founded by the chief executive of software company WANdisco plc

The scheme will cover 360 homes on the estate.

It will be a partnership led by Lloyd Samuels of SY-NC and David Richards of DJRFF, with members including the Digital Poverty Alliance, Northern Powerhouse Partnership, local internet service provider Pine Media, Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care, Sheffield City Council and the University of Sheffield.

Mr Samuels said: “We came across the issue of data poverty during lockdowns when children weren’t able to take part in their online lessons. We started talking to the Laptops for All campaign to overcome these barriers to progress and we came up with the idea of free, safe internet access for all. I have seen how others have seamlessly moved careers during the pandemic due to being connected. The internet is so necessary – if you’re not connected, life becomes even harder to navigate.”

Mr Richards added: “People are being excluded from our society, potentially permanently, because they don’t have access to the internet. As a technology entrepreneur, I love to solve problems and the Dryden project aims to solve a very big one – data poverty.

"By tackling digital poverty, the project aims to have a wider impact in a disadvantaged area with few public amenities.

"We want to prove our approach in Sheffield and roll it out to other towns and cities.”

It is intended to run the project for three years overall, including an initial pilot of one year.

It will be a closed network for the community and only available to Dryden residents. Modems will be installed in people's homes

Organisers say there will be a small nominal fee, decided by residents, to cover costs in what will be a non-profit scheme

How will you measure success? If residents take the network and run it, we will regard it as a success. Researchers from the University of Sheffield will measure the wider social, economic and health benefits of the scheme

A spokesman for the project said: “We will assess the scheme and its impacts and share our findings with other communities who want free, safe access to the internet.”

Cables are planned to be laid for the autumn, once surveys are complete. This installation will be cost-effective compared to commercial providers, according organisers, who say they became very aware of digital poverty on the estate during the pandemic and thought it would be a good place to start.

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