From Jurassic to Gigabit – future proof broadband is transforming Dorset   

After 11 years and £23.6m Dorset Council has connected over 85,000 premises to super and ultra-fast broadband and has even future-proofed the Jurassic era.   

The council is marking the end of its superfast and ultrafast rollouts, which has also seen an additional £5.3m returned to the county as part of a 'cash back' deal with Openreach.     

Among the many businesses and residents to benefit is The Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life in Kimmeridge, made world-famous by David Attenborough and its sea monster discovery.   

And it’s thanks to its new gigabit-capable full fibre broadband that Etches was able to cope with the ten-fold increase in visitors it experienced in 2024.   

As Operations Director Carla Crook explained: “When we opened in 2016, there was only dial-up internet in the village which was so slow it would take 4 hours to upload a YouTube video.   

“We did find a solution by employing a specialist company to erect a mast on the hill that could pick up broadband signals from Portland.   

“The mast provided good speeds but there was a problem. Every time the military carried out an operation in the bay, the warships would block the signal and our internet would crash.   

“This would happen at least two times a week and would mean our card machines and computers would stop working and if customers did not have cash, we’d have to turn them away.”   

When Openreach arrived in Kimmeridge to rollout full fibre broadband, funded by the government, Dorset Council and Dorset Local Economic Partnership (LEP), Etches Museum saw an even better solution.   

“As soon as our previous broadband contract enabled us to, we switched to the full fibre service,” Carla said.   

“And it was fortunate that we did because not long afterwards the David Attenborough programme about our Pliosaur skull discovery hit the airwaves and our visitor numbers rocketed.”   

Etches Museum saw its visitor numbers hit 11,000 in January 2024 alone after the programme aired, more than 10 times their usual figures. Altogether, the museum welcomed nearly 70,000 visitors last year.

Carla said: “Can you imagine if we had been on our previous, very unreliable broadband when we had this record number of visitors? We would have been turning thousands of people away.   

“There’s something quite romantic about Kimmeridge having no mobile phone signal and getting away from the modern world.   

“But at the end of the day we are a business and to survive we need 21st century connectivity.”   

Not only has full fibre broadband brought stability to Etches Museum, it’s also enabled it to introduce interactive tablets for young visitors and a contactless payment point to help raise funds to salvage the rest of the Pliosaur’s remains.   

Dorset Council’s superfast and ultrafast contracts were awarded to Openreach in 2013, 2015 and 2017. 

They were made possible thanks to £11.6m investment from the government, £10 million from Dorset Council and its predecessor councils and £2 million from Dorset LEP.  

As part of the contract, it was agreed that the broadband supplier would ‘pay back’ money to the council when it reached its targets of people taking out an improved broadband service using the new connection.   

Dorset Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for Property & Assets and Economic Growth, Cllr Richard Biggs, said: “I am incredibly proud of the success of our broadband rollouts and the impact they have had on boosting the economy and improving people’s lives.   

“As a direct result of people connecting to broadband under these contracts, Openreach has paid back £5.3m to the council, some of which we have re-invested into delivering more connectivity.   

“We know there are still areas of our county that need better connectivity, and we continue to work with central government to help make that happen.”   

Martin Williams, Openreach Partnership Director for the South West of England, added: “We know how important fast reliable broadband is for modern day life and our engineering team are immensely proud to have connected 85,000 premises in partnership with Dorset Council through the superfast programme.”

State-funded broadband rollouts in Dorset are now being delivered by the government’s Project Gigabit programme.   

This is connecting around 20,000 premises that were not included in any commercial plans.   

For more information and updates on Project Gigabit go to www.gov.uk/guidance/project-gigabit-uk-gigabit-programme