Update on faster broadband project for Gloucestershire:

Posted on By Pauline

Fastershire postcode checker is now available
Fastershire is a project to bring fibre broadband to around 90% of homes and businesses in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire by the end of 2016.

The Fastershire website
http://www.fastershire.com/homepage
contains information about the project’s aims and the Fastershire postcode checker http://www.fastershire.com/when-where
is now live on the website.

Find out if your location is ‘accepting orders’ (ie infrastructure is there), ‘coming soon’ (infrastructure there within a year) or is a ‘future exchange’ / ‘under evaluation’.
Work has already started in Cinderford, Coleford, Lydbrook, Longhope and Drybrook and there was a recent announcement that work will begin in late summer to connect Lechlade, Fairford, and South Cerney.

The GRCC website page sums up the story so far in moving towards better broadband for rural Gloucestershire. Click here http://www.grcc.org.uk/rural-services/rural-broadband to find out more.

Broadband Surveys

Posted on By Pauline

Please keep the Borders Broadband surveys coming in:
Available on line by clicking here. Hard copies with freepost returnable envelopes are available from Chris Cowcher, GRCC Broadband Champion.

Help provide the evidence needed to bring high-speed broadband to rural Gloucestershire.  To get up to date information on the Borders Broadband project and to access the survey, follow the link below:
http://www.gfirst.co.uk/projects/broadband

Borders Broadband is managed by GFirst (Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership), Gloucestershire County Council, Herefordshire Council and Government agency, Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK).

Survey: High Speed Broadband for Northleach

Posted on By Pauline

Make your views count in a major county-wide campaign to bring high-speed broadband to rural Gloucestershire! With Government support, the Borders Broadband project is working to improve internet services in rural Gloucestershire. The process of finding a supplier is already underway – but first we have to prove there is enough interest from local people, communities and businesses. This is where you come in.

In the next few weeks, local Broadband Champions – volunteers from your community – will be out delivering questionnaires. Please take a little time to complete and return your questionnaire to the designated drop off point (details on the questionnaire) or send it via freepost to:

GRCC, FREEPOST SWC 0305, Community House, 15 College Green, Gloucester, GL1 2BR.

To complete the survey online – or to find out more about the Borders Broadband campaign – visit the GFirst website www.gfirst.co.uk/broadband Borders Broadband is also conducting a separate online business survey, which is available at the same address. If you live in Gloucestershire and run a local business, you can complete both the residential and business surveys. Your Broadband Champions are also on hand if you have any questions about the completing the survey.

The Broadband Champions for Northleach are Ian Ellison and Pauline Rigby

If you run a business in Northleach and can’t get adequate broadband for your needs (too slow, too expensive, too unreliable), then Pauline would like to hear from you.

Council invests in better broadband

Posted on By Pauline

Gloucestershire County Council has agreed to invest £300,000 into a superfast broadband pilot to help support rural businesses.

Last year Gloucestershire First, the council’s economic arm, teamed up with Herefordshire Council to develop and submit an ambitious bid to Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) which was looking for rural areas of the country to take part in a government-funded national pilot.
In the autumn, the council learned the bid had been successful, which means along with parts of Herefordshire up to 80% of the Forest of Dean, parts of Gloucester and Tewkesbury will now be part of the superfast broadband trial.

Once up and running, this pilot could be extended across all of rural Gloucestershire.
In total, the project is expected to attract up to £12million of spending – half from the government and half from commercial broadband providers.
But to help get the project set up, Gloucestershire County Council has agreed to put in a one-off boost of £300,000.
This money will also be used to develop proposals to aid the roll-out of superfast broadband to the rest of rural Gloucestershire.
The money will come from the council’s Recession Fund, which is aimed at helping businesses through difficult times.

Herefordshire County Council will also contribute £300,000 to the scheme.
Cllr Chas Fellows, cabinet member for economy and environment, said: “Accessible fast broadband is seen as an increasingly important element of infrastructure for both business and the wider community.
“Indeed, many experts say next generation broadband will be a key contribution to local business success, both to support existing firms and help attract new enterprises as well as giving a general boost to local economies.

“We set up the Recession Fund specifically to help projects like this and in these difficult times, I believe it is all the more important to focus on creating a stronger, more secure economy in Gloucestershire.”
As part of the pilot, Gloucestershire First will also look to develop an EU funding bid which would help support the early roll out of the pilot to other rural parts of the county.

www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/pressoffice

Faster Broadband in Northleach

Posted on By Pauline

Dear All,

Tim Barter recently alerted us to an initiative which could result in improved connection speeds for broadband customers in Northleach.  Ian Ellison has followed this up for us – please see his email below.

PLEASE register your vote NOW and SPREAD THE WORD !!!

The website address is www.racetoinfinity.bt.com/.  If you need more background info read

Regards,
Caroline Braidwood
Clerk to Northleach with Eastington Town Council
Tel:  01451 861499 / 07870 170823
clerk@northleach.gov.uk
www.northleach.gov.uk

Quick update – I am in contact with our BT Regional Manager and he’s gathering some information. I will speak to him again on Friday once he should have more details to hand.

In the meantime he urged me to spread the word about the “Race for Infinity”: subscribers can register votes for our exchange to be upgraded to fibre optic cabling to the cabinet which would give us up to 40Mbps connection speeds. It is for any exchange with over 1000 subscribers – we have 1012. 🙂

The website address is http://www.racetoinfinity.bt.com/

I was only number 9 to vote for Northleach. As it is based on the percentage of subscribers who vote we should get the word out for as many as possible to do it.

I will be in touch again once I have spoken further with the regional manager – in the meantime tell anyone you know with an internet connection to vote for Northleach on the above site!

Regards

Ian