More than 2,000 back broadband boost

More than 2,000 villagers and businesses have backed a county council campaign for super-fast broadband – and more are urged to take part.

Leicestershire County Council wants to identify areas where people and businesses need super-fast broadband to be installed.

So far, 1,700 residents and 300 businesses have responded – and the council hopes more will respond before the survey closes on April 30th. The number of responses range from 780 in Harborough to 150 in Blaby.

The council will use the results to work with internet providers to

connect the “final third” of the county population without access to super-fast broadband – which is up to 190,000 people. It aims to reach more than 90 per cent of the population within two years and the entire county within five years.

Leicestershire County Council leader David Parsons - a member of the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership - said: “I’m delighted that 2,000 people have backed our survey in its first month but I’d like even more residents and businesses to take part.

“The more people who back our campaign, the more we can press to improve rural broadband speeds, to boost our economy. Rural communities and businesses can play a major role in the county’s future, if they have the high speed connections they need.”

The county council has allocated £4.3m to match the Government's £3.1m and meet its targets. A number of Leicestershire district councils are also seeking to invest to boost broadband speeds.

Mike Rook, leader of Harborough District Council, said: “The high response rate in Harborough demonstrates the importance of broadband to our businesses and communities.

"We have some very active communities - Ullesthorpe, for example, hosted a public meeting attended by 170 people and promoted the survey door-to-door."

Tim Watt, chairman of the Leicester Shire Business Council, said: “Broadband is essential for business growth across Leicestershire. I strongly encourage all businesses, including those that are home-based, to complete the survey.

"Identifying and locating business demand will be essential to the success of the rollout programme. City-based businesses should register their data in this survey, too.”

For more details and to take part in the survey, visit: www.leics.gov.uk/broadband call Matthew Kempson on 0116 305 6179, or email: broadband@leics.gov.uk. Paper copies and promotional leaflets and posters are available on request.

Media note:

The survey will be live until 30th April 2012. A report on the findings will be published in May at www.leics.gov.uk/broadband . For further details and community contacts, please contact Matthew Kempson on 0116 305 6179.

Across Leicestershire a number of residents and groups are leading efforts to improve connectivity within their communities. Activities include hosting public meetings, undertaking or promoting demand surveys, developing case study dossiers of demand, or even planning and commissioning community-led solutions. The contacts listed in the attached press release have led such activity and are keen to be contacted by local media.