Dorset Council’s Digital and Change team has received national acclaim after being highly commended in the Local Government Chronicle awards, in the ‘large team of the year’ category. The accolade recognised the support the team provided to local communities during the pandemic, including setting up the Dorset Digital Hotline. There was also praise for how… Read more Council’s digital and change service wins national praise
The 5G RuralDorset project has announced significant progress on its ambitious, DCMS-backed agriculture and aquaculture 5G research trials.
More people in Dorset can now access free technical advice thanks to the expansion of Dorset Council’s volunteer digital champion service. Since Covid restrictions were lifted, the council’s volunteer digital champions have gradually resumed their face-to-face advice sessions. From this autumn the volunteer champions are available, or will shortly be available, at 13 centres across… Read more Free digital advice service expands across Dorset
A ground-breaking DCMS and Dorset Council-backed project aimed at exploring how next generation connectivity can benefit the people that live and work in rural areas picked up three awards at the Connected Britain conference. Read the full release here
A five-day festival will be staged at locations across Dorset next month to showcase the county’s exciting digital future. Dorset Council’s Festival of the Future is back – and this time it’s a truly hybrid event where people can attend in person or take part virtually. Held from 4-8 October, #FutureFest21 will highlight the innovation… Read more Festival to showcase Dorset’s digital future
Dorset Council and local parishes are calling for more national action to ensure the county’s most rural areas do not get left behind in the digital age. The authorities were responding to the government’s ‘call for evidence’ on how ‘very hard to reach’ areas cannot access good broadband. Although 96% of Dorset can get superfast… Read more Dorset calls for more government action to bring better broadband to remote rural areas
Emergency services will be able to respond faster to casualties in need as they are ‘brought into the 21st century’ with new 5G connectivity. Read more here
Dorset residents can once again get face-to-face advice on any digital queries such as setting up and using devices including phones, tablets and PCs. Digital champions have started to return to Dorset libraries to help people who are struggling to get online. Meanwhile the Digital Hotline will keep running to help people who can’t get… Read more Digital champions return to face-to-face advice sessions
A special hotline set up to help people get online during the first lockdown is celebrating its first anniversary. Three lockdowns later and the Dorset Digital Hotline has now helped almost 1,000 people. Behind the hotline is a team of dedicated volunteer Digital Champions who were forced to give up their library clinics when lockdown… Read more Dorset’s Digital Hotline celebrates its first birthday
Political and business leaders have welcomed news that rural Dorset will be among the first areas in the country to benefit from the government’s new £5bn gigabit broadband fund. It follows months of behind-the-scenes lobbying for better broadband in Dorset, led by West Dorset MP Chris Loder and Dorset Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Peter Wharf.… Read more Dorset one of the first areas to benefit from £5bn broadband fund
A special hotline set up to help people with digital enquiries has seen the number of calls it receives almost triple during this latest lockdown. From January 5 to February 5, the Dorset Digital Hotline received 132 calls – its biggest ever monthly total and nearly three times the average monthly calls it received in… Read more Calls to Dorset Digital Hotline almost triple during lockdown
Small Robot Company, Wessex Internet, Telint and Dorset Council partner to deliver step-change in rural connectivity and agricultural productivity Read more on the 5G RuralDorset website
People who received a device for Christmas and unsure how to use it are being urged to contact Dorset’s free Digital Hotline for help. The Dorset Council hotline is manned by a team of Digital Champion volunteers who have already helped hundreds of people get online. It is estimated that 150,000 people in Dorset lack… Read more Dorset’s Digital Hotline can help people use their Christmas gadget gifts
A new film highlights ground-breaking work taking place in Dorset to help develop a blueprint for next generation mobile connectivity across rural parts of the UK. Read more and view the film on the 5G RuralDorset website
Dorset’s residents are being urged to help friends and loved ones get online as the country prepares for its first ‘digital Christmas’. Tier 2 Covid-19 restrictions and limited Christmas bubbles will see more people than ever turn to the digital world to help them celebrate the festive season. However, in Dorset, it’s estimated that as… Read more Yule log-on with the help of Dorset Council this Christmas
A second lockdown has been made a lot easier for some of Dorset’s most clinically vulnerable residents, thanks to the gift of free tablet devices. Earlier in the year Dorset Council teamed up with Everyone Connected to identify people who were previously shielding and would most benefit from receiving free tablets. Beryl Davies from Sturminster… Read more Free device giveaways helping to shield people from loneliness
Hundreds of people across the south west benefited from over sixty presentations on digital technology at the recent three-day Festival of the Future which took place on line. And many more are still catching up on the wealth of information available as most of the sessions are available on the Digital Dorset YouTube channel. The… Read more Dorset’s Festival of the Future is hailed a success
Dorset Council’s Digital Hotline is helping even more people get online thanks to a new arrangement with Age UK North, South & West Dorset. Age UK North, South & West Dorset is now referring its users who need help with any IT issues to the free Hotline. The Hotline is manned by a team… Read more Dorset’s Digital Hotline helping even more people get online
A new group has come together to support Dorset’s vision to make the county a Digital Place and be at the front of digital change. The Digital Place programme board will support the team at Dorset Council in its work to use emerging and new digital technologies to help create vibrant, safe, healthy and prosperous… Read more New group will help Dorset be digital pioneer
A team of dedicated volunteers is on hand to help hundreds of Dorset residents stay connected during lockdown. Dorset Council’s Digital Champions, who used to hold regular surgeries in libraries, have continued offering their expertise throughout the Coronavirus crisis via the Digital Hotline. Now with another lockdown underway and winter just around the corner, the… Read more Stay better connected during lockdown with Dorset’s Digital Hotline
5G RuralDorset last week visited communications technology partner Excelerate at its Cardiff HQ to catch up on progress with this exciting Government-funded project.
A digital project to help schools quickly alert the council when children are missing out on full time education has been shortlisted for two national awards. The ‘Supporting children and young people to access education’ project is in the running for the Digital Leaders 100 Awards in the Digital Public Service Innovation of the Year… Read more Children’s Services shortlisted for two national digital awards
A team who has delivered nearly 3,000 learning tutorials and created a series of countywide digital networking events over the past year has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award. The digital team at Dorset Council are one of the finalists in the ‘Digital Public Service Innovation of the Year’ category of the Digital Leaders… Read more Trailblazing digital team in line for a top national award
A practically-minded young man who joined Dorset Council straight from college has now been shortlisted for a prestigious national digital award. Sam McLaren, is one of the finalists in the ‘Young Digital Leaders’ category of the Digital Leaders 100 Awards. He was selected because of his creative and innovative work with digital technology over the… Read more Young digital talent shortlisted for national award
A Government broadband scheme set up to provide a faster broadband service has helped over 230 Dorset homes and businesses since it launched in 2019 and now Dorset Council is investing £1 million so that it can reach up to 1,000 more. The £200m Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) has been helping to provide gigabit-capable… Read more Homes and businesses better off thanks to the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme
Dorset Council is delighted to announce we have no less than three finalists in the prestigious Digital Leaders 100 Awards 2020, reflecting our successful approach to building our digital future. The awards celebrate individuals and organisations from the private, public and non-profit sector who demonstrate a pioneering approach to digital transformation in the UK. Sam… Read more We’ve been shortlisted for three top national digital awards – vote for Dorset !
A highly experienced team of digital volunteers from the Dorset Digital Hotline have been praised for the way they helped a ‘shielding’ couple connect with loved ones and the outside world during the COVID lockdown. The big ‘thank you’ from Wareham residents Arthur and Daniel Brown marks this year’s #LetsTalkLoneliness Week (15-19 June 2020). The… Read more Digital Hotline volunteers ‘do their byte’ to get couple to friends’ 70th birthday party video celebrations.
As a result of the current COVID-19 outbreak, Dorset Council will be hosting its committee meetings virtually following changes to legislation, starting with Cabinet.
A telephone hotline set up in response to the COVID-19 lockdown to provide support for people with IT and digital problems of all kinds has received more than 50 calls in the first three weeks. Callers comments show that helping to keep people connected with friends and family during the lockdown makes all the difference.… Read more Dorset Digital Hotline receives over 50 calls in first three weeks
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