We have successfully secured Government funding for
super-fast broadband across the area as part of the bid with
Somerset and Devon County Councils and Torbay and Plymouth
Councils.
We now need your help.
The next step is to secure investment from the private sector to
install the broadband and to do that we need your help.
We need to show there is strong demand for faster broadband and
show what current speeds and coverage we have in the area.
Just fill in a simple survey and tell us what your current
broadband speed is.
More details and the survey are available on the
Connecting
Devon and Somerset website.
A leaflet about how you can help and the project timescales is
also available:
As part of the initial bid a broadband survey took place in
Autumn 2011. This received more than 600 responses. We are
grateful to those who spared the time to complete the forms by post
and online.
The general responses to the questions are available to
download:
The more general issues identified were:
Residential
- People increasingly want and need to use the internet for a
wide range of services and lifestyle choices including working from
home, educational and home entertainment.
- 91% of respondents view current internet speeds as far too
slow and unreliable for their needs.
- The general view is there is a lack of choice of internet
providers and also that there is little evidence of investment in
infrastructure by providers.
Business
- Current services including cable and Wi-Fi are slow, inadequate
and unreliable this has a major impact on ability to run a
business.
- 90% of respondents thought a faster and more reliable service
would enable them to increase business performance and competitive
advantage.
- Few commercial supplier options available so little competition
and businesses cannot switch easily to another provider
This information will be included in the evidence to companies
tendering for the contract to deliver the new infrastructure
alongside the other data currently available for North
Somerset.
As part of the work on the Devon and Somerset BDUK programme,
from April 2012 onwards, further work will be undertaken on
speeds, the costs people and businesses are willing to pay and what
services people want. This will be used to further influence
coverage and service availablity across the whole bid area,
including North Somerset, as well as for telecoms providers to sign
people and businesses up to the new services.
Further information and progress on this work is available at
Connecting
Devon and Somerset.
As part of the Devon and Somerset bid our goals for 2015
are:
- Significantly faster broadband (at least 2Mbps broadband) for
everyone
- Superfast broadband for most (at least 85% over 20Mbps)
- At a fair price and through an open network
- Rural communities are key: no cherry picking
- Supporting businesses and the public sector to realise the
benefits
- Supporting communities: delivering digital and rural
inclusion
For more information contact our
Economic Development Service.
For more information on the wider bid, visit the
Connecting
Devon and Somerset website.
