LOCAL MP OUTLINES SUPERFAST BROADBAND PLANS FOR RURAL AREAS IN FIRST MAJOR MEDIA SPEECH AS CULTURE SECRETARY

In his first major media speech as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Local MP Jeremy Hunt has outlined his plans to bring superfast broadband to rural areas, news that will please residents of South West Surrey who have often suffered from limited access to internet services in their area.  Jeremy confirmed plans for three market testing projects to bring superfast broadband to rural areas, explaining that it is important to make sure that the benefits of superfast broadband are available to everyone. He also confirmed that the Government will open up existing infrastructure to reduce the costs of laying new fibre, saying that they would legislate if necessary. Jeremy wants UK broadband to rival the rest of the world and further plans will be outlined in July.

Speaking about the plans Jeremy said: “I know that in parts of South West Surrey, internet access can at best be described as patchy. These plans would ensure that South West Surrey could experience the same standard of broadband currently enjoyed in other areas of the UK, I look forward to progress being made in these areas as rural areas like South West Surrey finally getting broadband access fit for the 21st century”.

Comments On This Article

Good luck it will never happen my home is about one mile from JH,HQ close to pride of valley our speed varies from 400kbps to 1.2mbps with ancient cable 50 years old running from hindhead exchange with splitter boxes to create new lines it needs total renewal for any inprovement Take a look at any OS map its the rural areas to understand the task a realistic timescale would be 30 years upgrading as replacment became necessary. It took 35 years for the A3 tunnel to be started!

robert anthony  |  11 August 2010

The UK is on the brink of a once-in-a-century opportunity. To rebalance the terms of trade in favour of the customer for a change. And regardless of our day-jobs, we are all customers. The replacement of obsolete copper wire with FiWi (Fibre to the Home for Fixed Access and Wireless for mobility and remote-rural in-fill) means there is a chance for change. A chance for communities to find better ways of benefiting from the 4th Utility. Some questions to bear in mind: Who will own the result, once the superfast broadband network is built? In whose interests is the network operated? What are the options and choices available to local communities?

Guy Jarvis  |  6 July 2010

Leaving aside the fact that 'broadband' is just the opposite of 'narrow band' ie. an adjective, not a noun, all broadband signals are as fast as one another, since they all travel at or near to the speed of light. The word to use to describe how quickly data is transferred is 'rate', not speed. You cannot have faster broadband services, but higher (data) rate services.

Victor Ludlow  |  29 June 2010