Posted on Wednesday 9th January 2019
More Staffordshire residents are being urged to get connected to recent fibre broadband connection in 2019 and improve access to a broad range of services and opportunities.
Faster broadband connection for things like on-demand video, online gaming and smart home apps is more important than ever.
In the new year people may also be thinking of upgrading to faster broadband. This has been made even easier by the launch of the boostyourbroadband.com website – an impartial service from Ofcom and supported by consumer organisation Which?
Across Staffordshire, more than 75,000 homes and businesses can now benefit from faster speeds thanks to the county council’s £32 million Superfast Staffordshire partnership with Openreach.
It’s proving popular as well, with 52 per cent of premises already having contacted their service provide and upgraded to a fibre connection.
Superfast broadband is now considered as an important feature in the home, enabling people to access a range of leisure, education and other services and to work flexibly.
The most recent areas to benefit from the Superfast Staffordshire rollout include Great Chatwell and Standeford in South Staffordshire, Park Nook (near Ipstones) in Staffordshire Moorlands, Shenstone Wood End and Little Hay in Lichfield, Croxton in Stafford Borough and Betley in Newcastle.
Staffordshire County Council’s economic growth leader Mark Winnington, said:
We have passed the 50 per cent take-up mark which is another significant milestone for the programme. We are now urging more people to get connected in the New Year and improve their day-to-day living through better access to a range of services.
People can choose any provider and can find out more on the Superfast Staffordshire website. The can also find out about broadband provision and how easy it is to upgrade or change provider through the new Boost Your Broadband website from Ofcom.
We are obviously really pleased to have nearly reached 96 per cent coverage, but I’d like to reassure people that we will continue to do all we can to find solutions for those not yet in included in the plan.”
Carl Sproston, Openreach’s partnership director, said:
We are delighted so many people are using fibre across Staffordshire. Our partnership has been a real success story so far, but we know there is still more to do. We’re now working in some of the most rural parts of the county, but our engineers are highly-skilled in overcoming the challenges this brings.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind people that to benefit from faster speeds, they should first check online to see if they live in a fibre-enabled area, and if so, get in touch with their broadband provider to upgrade.”
Across the county, according to independent thinkbroadband.com, more than 95 per cent of premises are able to order superfast broadband.
People can find out more on the Superfast Staffordshire website.