Gloucester MP Richard Graham says that ‘Providing high speed broadband to an extra 1,800 properties in Kingsway means better connected constituents – whether for family use or working from home’.
Richard thanked Fastershire (the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire broadband project) for resolving a problem ‘all too common for recent housing’ of developers not automatically equipping homes with faster broadband. ‘Every buyer’, the MP said, ‘should demand that superfast broadband is included in any new home. In this case, after much communication with Fastershire, I’m delighted a solution has been funded and delivered to so many homes in Kingsway – making it an even better place to live’.
The MP added that most constituents in Gloucester already enjoy average download speeds of 22Mbps, but there are pockets of broadband poverty (which can be measured on home computers), so residents should check their broadband speed via fastershire.com and ask their broadband provider what will be done to improve things. ‘If they don’t get a satisfactory answer, they are welcome to contact me on richard.graham.mp@parliament.uk’, the MP confirmed.
County Councillor Dave Norman representing the Grange and Kingsway Division said, ‘More reliable internet access is essential for Kingsway residents like elsewhere, and the County Council is pleased to have played its part in getting this resolved’.
Kingsway resident Sam noted ‘It was great to have Richard’s support to speed up the Fastershire rollout. Having superfast broadband has made a real difference and made my life much easier.’
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Notes to Editors
- Fastershire is a partnership between Gloucestershire County Council and Herefordshire Council with Openreach 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.
- 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.”
- 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
- 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.
- The photo attached is of Richard and City Cllrs Steve Morgan and Nigel Hanman with Grange residents in Tolsey Gardens, after he persuaded Openreach to provide superfast broadband there a couple of years ago.