Customers in the John Street area of Greenock have received an early Christmas present in the form of completely free, high-speed wireless broadband and digital skills support as part of the successful extensive neighbourhood regeneration programme.

River Clyde Homes has partnered with wi-fi and digital inclusion consultancy CommunityUK.net Ltd and Futureskills Inverclyde on the innovative project, which is the first of its kind in Inverclyde.

The service has been piloted by a number of John Street residents over the past few months. They have been able to access CommunityUK’s network from Wireless hotspots strategically placed around the John Street area to provide complete coverage in and around their homes. With 100 per cent positive feedback from residents to-date, the final stage of the project is now complete with each home being provided with a free, high-spec wireless router.

The service provides residents with a completely free 4mb service, a range of low cost increased speed services for those who want them and their very own ‘Hyper-Local Community Web Portal’ with links to housing provider content, careers guidance, digital skills training, benefits and welfare advice and much more.

Over the next month all residents registering their new router will be put into a prize draw. On offer are three great broadband upgrade packages with the lucky winner of the first prize receiving a free upgrade to CommunityUK’s ‘25MB’ package for one year worth over £190.00.

Heather Houston, a John Street resident and member of the residents’ committee, welcomed the introduction of the free wi-fi. She said: “It’s fast and easy to use and made a real difference. The kids have been using it to do their homework on their tablets, I’ve been applying for jobs and I’ve even done some online Christmas shopping. It’s making life just that little bit easier.”

Albert Henderson MBE, chair of the River Clyde Homes board, said: “Digital inclusion is something of a priority for us at River Clyde Homes. With the increasing development of online services; electronic communication is now a crucial part of everyday life. We understand that not everyone has access to the Internet or has an email account, so projects like this make a real difference. We hope that this is just the first of a number of community wi-fi projects that we will introduce in the coming years.”

Peter Reed-Forrester, managing director of CommunityUK, said: “It has been a real privilege to partner with River Clyde Homes on such an important project that is the just the start of an ongoing initiative that aims to help Greenock to become one of Scotland’s exemplar digital communities. We are looking forward to being part of this journey for a long time to come.”

Futureskills Inverclyde, the Big Lottery Funded project, will be working with residents to make sure they get the most of their new connectivity and develop their digital skills.

@rivclydehomes