Preston offers low-cost wi-fi to help people get online

The scheme will offer low-cost wi-fi and second-hand devices to those in need

Residents who are unable to afford to connect to the internet in a city are to be helped to get online with low-cost wi-fi hubs and recycled devices.

Preston City Council has launched Preston Digital Co-operative after a report outlined the impact of so-called digital exclusion on residents.

Wi-fi fibre hubs will be set up to provide cheap - or even free - connectivity to households.

The council will also allocate £50,000 to teach people basic digital skills.

A study by the Co-operative Broadband Network (CBN) found that there was a "high level of demand for support…which is likely to continue to rise".

'Recycle hardware'

The report noted that the main barriers to digital access in Preston included economic disadvantages, low literacy levels, health issues and language barriers.

It also found older age groups sometimes lacked an understanding of how to get online, and some young people were unable to fill in online forms.

CBN warned of the knock-on effects of digital exclusion on almost all aspects of health, wellbeing and quality of life, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

As well as offering affordable wi-fi, the Digital Co-operative will recycle second-hand hardware and distribute them to those currently not online.

The council had considered other ways of boosting digital inclusion - like subsidising residents' access to existing broadband providers and providing grants for people to buy their own devices - but concluded that they could be more costly and complex to administer, as well as being open to misuse.

The new co-operative will initially be funded with cash from Preston's allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), with the aim of becoming sustainable over the longer term.

The city council has agreed to spend £20,000 in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25 to procure an organisation that will be charged with establishing the Preston Digital Co-operative.

A further £160,000 will then be provided as a grant to the new organisation in order to enable it to achieve its aims.