Local MP Caroline Dinenage has welcomed the news that the second wave of the Hampshire Superfast Broadband programme is getting underway.
Hampshire County Council and partners are pressing ahead to boost the number of properties across the county with access to superfast broadband speeds of 24 megabits per second (Mbps) or faster. Wave 1 of the programme has already delivered access to superfast speeds to 63,000 premises across the county, whilst Wave 2 will deliver to a further 34,500 premises by September 2018, including to Stubbington and Hill Head.
Gosport has some of the best broadband infrastructure in the UK with 98% of premises already able to access speeds above 24Mbps and 80% of premises able to access speeds of 200Mbps. On top of this Hampshire's Superfast Broadband programme will be upgrading services to a further 700 premises between January and December 2017 which should result in more than 99% of premises in Gosport having access to superfast speeds.
County Council Leader, Councillor Roy Perry, said
"The UK continues to be the leading nation in Europe for take-up and usage of digital services, and take-up through Hampshire's programme has exceeded expectations. Thanks to £28.4 million of funding from the County Council, the Government, partner authorities and BT, the programme has already increased superfast broadband coverage from 80% to 90% of premises in the county. Wave 2 of the programme will further increase coverage to 96% of premises in the county – supporting businesses, the local economy, the provision of educational resources, as well as helping reduce social isolation."
Commenting on the news, Caroline said
"In this day and age, it is vitally important for people and businesses to have access to reliable and speedy broadband, which is why I am proud of the government's commitment and Hampshire County Council's programme to ensure people can stay connected.
When we came to office in 2010, only 45 per cent of the country had access to superfast broadband. Today, we have provided superfast broadband access to 90 per cent of the UK – some additional 4 million homes and businesses. By the end of next year, we will have reached 95 per cent. This is a result of £1.7 billion of investment from the Government, local councils, the devolved administrations and BT."
For more information please visit http://www.hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com/.