Hampshire gets superfast broadband boost
A roll-out of superfast broadband in Hampshire means that almost 60,000 additional homes and businesses now have access to a much faster broadband connection.
The county council previously announced that along with partners it had launched a superfast broadband initiative to help boost connections in the area. Specifically, the programme, which has received £28 million of funding, will aim to connect 97,000 premises in the county that were not connected to superfast broadband through commercial roll-outs by internet service providers (ISPs).
According to the Southern Daily Echo, 58,200 homes and businesses will benefit from the completion of the latest roll-out, with a further 33,000 expected to be connected over the coming three years. Residents and businesses targeted under the programme will now be able to access broadband speeds of between 24 and 76 Mbps.
Hampshire County Council has set its own targets of getting 95 per cent of premises in the region having access to superfast broadband by 2018, which is a year later than the same goal that has been set by the UK government.
Council leader Roy Perry said: “By the end of 2015, around 91 per cent of premises will be connected, and we are well-placed to take action to further extend the existing programme. I now look forward to the government’s proposals on how to address the final five per cent – ensuring the whole of Hampshire can benefit.”
Connecting the final five per cent of the population not covered under the current targets has been a topic of much debate in recent weeks. These remote, hard to reach places will require a lot of funding if the infrastructure is to be installed - the government has created a committee to explore how best to tackle this issue, while ISPs have also been asked to foot the bill with the introduction of a new levy.
Almost all businesses today need reliable, superfast broadband, which is not always available in their area, so getting a dedicated leased line for the premises can be the best solution. hSo provides managed networks designed for business - to get an instant cost for a leased line at your location, visit our online leased line price checker.
(Image: Kainet)
