Rooksdown residents snap up superfast broadband

Figures from Hampshire County Council show that 68 per cent of those living in the Rooksdown area have the high-speed broadband, followed by Hatch Warren and Beggarwood with 49 per cent, then Bramley and Sherfield with 48 per cent.

The council has announced that an extra 58,200 homes and businesses in the county now have faster broadband speeds, thanks to Hampshire’s Superfast Broadband Programme.

The programme marks an investment of £28million to bring superfast broadband speeds to an extra 97,000 premises which would have otherwise been left out by the commercial roll-out.

The council aims to make high-speed broadband available to at least 95 per cent of premises across Hampshire by September 2018.

Councillor Roy Perry, county council leader, 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.”

Cllr Perry also welcomed news that the government’s Innovation Fund trail, which targets improving broadband speeds in rural areas, has recently been extended, bringing the county’s total number of rural premises connected under the scheme to 1,750.

Communities that fall outside of Hampshire’s Superfast Broadband programme who wish to self-fund a solution to receive superfast broadband can now apply for support from the county council from a £400,000 fund.

Communities can submit an expression of interest to receive a maximum of 50 per cent of the total cost (up to £500 per premise), from November 1. Details of the scheme are to be published shortly.

The more residents who sign up for superfast broadband, the more funding the council can claim back from BT through a gainshare scheme to reinvest in the final five per cent of the county’s hardest to reach areas.

For more information visit hampshiresuperfastbroad

band.com.