Fastershire project extends in Gloucester before the Spring.
Gloucester MP Richard Graham says that “an agreement between Fastershire (the Gloucesterhsire and Herefordshire broadband project) and Openreach (the UK’s digital network business) to provide high speed broadband to an extra 1,800 properties in Gloucester is very welcome news.”
Richard said “most of Gloucester already enjoys average download speeds of 22Mbps, but there are pockets of broadband poverty, and this should make a real difference. I hope all these 1,800 homes will all be connected by April 2019.”
To find out your property’s broadband speed, please check with your provider.
To find out if your property can already access faster broadband or where your property sits in the Fastershire rollout, visit www.fastershire.com and use the address checker.
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Notes to Editors
About Fastershire
- Fastershire is a partnership between Gloucestershire County Council and Herefordshire Council to overcome the market’s failure to provide high speed broadband across both counties. It uses funding from central government’s Broadband Delivery UK matched by the local authorities, ERDF, EAFRD and the Marches LEP
- According to Broadband Compared, Gloucester has a stable broadband network backed up by the UK’s biggest providers, with average speeds of 22Mbps - https://www.broadbandcompared.co.uk/broadband/in/gloucester
- Phase 1 of the project enabled 87% of premises in Gloucestershire with access to speeds of 30Mbps or over. This coverage has been achieved through commercial investment and a project contract delivered by BT Group.
- Phase 2 of the project it is expected to increase coverage in Gloucestershire to 97%, through contracts with Gigaclear and BT Group and even further using EAFRD Funding with the help of Voneus.
- The projects vision is that “by the end of 2019/20 all residents and businesses in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire will be able to order the broadband service they need, and a high percentage will be using faster broadband to do more online, boost business growth and achieve their potential.”
- The project has developed a strategy http://www.fastershire.com/about-fastershire/strategy which outlines the approach adopted.