Andrew has welcomed yet another community in North Lincolnshire being able to access superfast broadband after the cabinet covering Garthorpe and Fockerby has become one of the latest to go live.
The previous Conservative-led Government launched the national Superfast Broadband Programme in conjunction with Local Authorities which will see over £1.7 billion invested in improving broadband across the country over three phases.
The £12 million North Lincolnshire Broadband project was set-up with the aim of providing high-speed fibre broadband access to properties in North Lincolnshire, with the target of covering around 92.5 per cent of Northern Lincolnshire in the first phase. This first phase was an incredible success and North Lincolnshire Council was one of the fastest in the country to complete the initial roll-out.
Over 31,000 properties were reached in the first phase locally, and these properties can now see major improvements to their broadband speeds. This figure included over 4,000 businesses and according to figures released in March this year, take-up is over 30 per cent in North and North East Lincolnshire. However, a number of communities initially missed out in this first phase due to technical complications and the associated cost of connecting these properties.
Phase two started in April this year and aimed to provide 99 per cent of properties across North Lincolnshire with high-speed broadband by March 2017 – exceeding the national target of 95 per cent! This second phase will include communities that weren’t covered by the first phase, such as Garthorpe and Fockerby.
Those residents in Garthorpe and Fockerby who are interested in accessing superfast broadband will now be able to contact their provider to discuss the packages available to them and residents should note that properties aren’t automatically upgraded.
Andrew reports, “I’m delighted with the progress we’ve seen across North Lincolnshire with this roll-out of superfast broadband and feedback from residents has been great.
“Access to reliable and fast broadband is now a modern necessity which will help drive economic growth and jobs locally. This Government is committed to delivering access to superfast broadband and I welcome the efforts by North Lincolnshire Council to go even further and reach 99 per cent of properties in our area.
“I fully understand the concerns of those residents who missed out initially and I have been working hard with North Lincolnshire Council and local Councillors to look at how best to include these remaining communities in this programme.
“The cabinet covering Garthorpe and Fockerby is the latest to go live in this second phase with others set to join them over the coming months. A few of the more complicated connections are currently being modelled and those residents can rest assured that we are looking at every option available!”
Cllr Julie Reed adds, “It is fantastic to see how far we have come with this rollout over the past year. Access to superfast broadband is the way forward and we have received some excellent feedback from residents and businesses saying how much better it is to do a range of things online following this roll-out.
“We are committed to working with every community in North Lincolnshire and following some underspend from the first phase of the roll-out and some additional investment, we are now able to reach even more locations.”
If you would like more information you can visit the dedicated website via: http://www.northlincs.gov.uk/jobs-business-regen/business-information-and-advice/northern-lincolnshire-broadband-project/ or call 01724 296926
Photo - Andrew and Cllr Julie Reed with the cabinet covering Garthorpe and Fockerby
