Gloucestershire exceeds 98% superfast broadband milestone

Through the Fastershire Broadband Project, Gloucestershire County Council has been working to bring improved broadband connections to rural and hard to reach properties.

Fastershire was one of the first superfast projects in the UK and was a partnership between Gloucestershire County Council and Herefordshire Council, with match funding from the UK government.

Established in 2012, the project has had two main large scale delivery contracts in Gloucestershire, first with Openreach and the second with rural gigabit-specialist, Gigaclear. Alongside this the project has had a number of smaller community grant projects with suppliers like Airband, Full Fibre Ltd and also Gigaclear.

Today, 98.5 per cent of properties in Gloucestershire have access to a superfast connection, up from only 39 per cent in 2012. In addition, Fastershire has also helped increase gigabit-capable coverage across Gloucestershire, and the county now boasts over 80 per cent gigabit-capable broadband and 60 per cent full fibre access, compared to only one per cent in 2012.

Cllr David Gray, cabinet member for environment, economy and planning at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Access to fast and reliable broadband is essential for our communities, businesses and overall economic growth and we’re proud of the progress made through the Fastershire Broadband Project.

“Building broadband infrastructure across the county has been challenging, but with the support of our partners and communities, this cross-county collaboration has benefited properties in every district in the county. As the Fastershire Broadband Project draws to a close, we are committed to extending improved broadband access even further.”

To find out more about your broadband potential, visit www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/Digital.