Full fibre broadband helped Dunton log into a faster future

The rollout of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) to rural Bedfordshire marked the end of a six-year campaign to bring fibre broadband to the community. 

Now seven years later Voneus, one of the UK’s largest rural broadband specialists, continues to provide full fibre to 214 customers in the village of Dunton. 

Voneus arrived in Dunton in 2017 with an interim wireless solution, increasing broadband speeds from less than 1Mbps to up to 30Mbps. 

The benefits were immediate, with residents able to work from home without being impacted by slow broadband or dropout, while gamers enjoyed a huge speed boost for their online gaming. 

The final phase of the rollout saw fibre installed directly to properties, delivering gigabit-capable speeds directly into homes. 

Dunton resident and software engineer David Booth needed a strong broadband connection in order to upload and transfer his work-related 3D housing designs. 

Previously with BT, David struggled to download email attachments or upload any of the huge data files needed for his job, let alone host video conferences when working from home under his old internet connection. 

David said: “When I moved to Dunton I knew the broadband would be slower, but BT told us an upgrade would be coming within six months. That never happened. Since Voneus arrived, my wife and I have been able to continue our work in digital data-heavy fields from home and crucially were able to avoid being furloughed during the pandemic.  

“As an avid gamer myself, the installation also meant I no longer had to spend hours packing the PC up to take to a friend’s place just to download the latest titles. I am so grateful to Voneus for actually delivering solutions and not just leaving us and the village in the cold like other providers have in the past.” 

Alongside David, Tim Fowler was another of the residents leading the campaign for a better broadband provider and having lived in the community for more than 13 years, he has seen first-hand the huge improvements to Dunton connectivity thanks to Voneus. 

He said: “Even after getting an MP involved, we were told it was not commercially viable for our area to receive an infrastructure upgrade. With the fibre rollout from Voneus the village was able to take another massive step forward. Our measure before was how long does it take to download a film or how long can we watch Netflix before it needs to buffer for a long period; with this installation, those worries were completely erased.” 

Independent Central Bedfordshire Councillor Adam Zerny said: “Voneus was prepared to step in and do the hard work when BT were lagging behind." 

The Voneus aim today remains the same as it was then: to take rural communities that have been left behind by poor broadband and bring them up to gigabit-capable connectivity, similar to those enjoyed in urban areas.