We aim to ensure that no individual or business is excluded from digital opportunities due to lack of high-speed and affordable broadband connections, equipment, or skills.
With a programme of work that covers digital connectivity and inclusion, we will work with our partners to deliver and support projects in alignment with the Digital Strategy for Essex and Everyone’s Essex, Essex County Council’s plan for Levelling Up the county.
In October 2022, we launched our new identity as Digital Essex. This brand represents our work covering connectivity and wider support to help residents get online.
We were previously known as Superfast Essex, Essex County Council's broadband improvement programme. We've worked to make superfast and ultrafast broadband available to as many homes and businesses across Essex as we can. To achieve this, we've been rolling out a mix of fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) and fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology.
We've worked with two network operators, Openreach and Gigaclear, to improve connectivity across 12 districts.
Superfast Essex was funded by Essex County Council, the Government and the network operators working on each contract. Local councils have also contributed funding towards some phases of work. In addition, we’ve received full funding for our Phase 4b work, which is set bring ultrafast fibre broadband to nearly 1,000 businesses across Essex, as well as benefit a further 2,700 homes. This is thanks to a £5 million grant from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). We have also received an additional £2.5 million funding from SELEP and the Getting Building Fund to both support this work and reach additional rural premises.
Fibre broadband in your area
We’ve created an interactive rollout map to help show what broadband coverage is available or planned in your area. Enter your address on the map page to find out what is available at your property.
Commercial work
Some broadband operators have told us about their existing and planned broadband coverage in Essex, which is commercial (non-state funded) work that sits outside of the Superfast Essex programme. Read about this work on our commercial operators page.
Helping people to get online is a primary aim of the Digital Essex programme and the Digital Strategy for Essex. To help us achieve this, we're proud to have become ambassadors for Good Things Foundation, a charity which supports socially excluded people to improve their lives through digital.
Find out more about our work to help Essex residents get online.