The Government and Gloucestershire County Council have been working to help improve rural broadband speeds in the Forest of Dean and across Gloucestershire.
We are committed to giving everyone access to high speed broadband by 2020 and will make it a legal requirement for high speed broadband to be provided to anyone requesting it. This will give every household the right to request access to broadband with minimum speeds of 10Mbps. Whether by enabling businesses to reach new customers or by helping parents with the weekly shop, investing in better local broadband is creating jobs and making daily life easier.
Part of this commitment is a £1.7 billion Government rollout of superfast broadband to areas deemed ‘not commercially viable’ by industry. So far this has reached more than 4.5 million UK premises that would otherwise have been left in the connectivity slow lane, the majority of which are in rural areas, like the Forest of Dean.
For too long rural areas have missed out on fast broadband speeds, left behind by telecoms companies when investing in new infrastructure, with their focus on larger towns and cities. Access to superfast broadband is great news for families and businesses in the Forest of Dean.
The Fastershire project – a joint scheme between Gloucestershire County Council & Herefordshire Council – has helped to deliver this in practice. Phase 1 of the roll-out delivered faster broadband to the majority of homes and businesses. It has already enabled over 78,000 premises in Gloucestershire with access to faster broadband over 30Mbps. We are now on Phase 2 of the roll out where one of the key areas is the Forest of Dean. More details on this local scheme, and how it affects you, are available at: http://www.fastershire.com/.
There is more to do, but each week faster broadband reaches more homes in the Forest of Dean. By investing in the things that improve people’s day to day lives we will build a Britain that is fit for the future.