6 February 2012
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP for The Cotswolds, has welcomed the news that Gloucestershire County Council are to inject £7.5million worth of investment over the next two years into improving broadband in rural areas, as part of its ‘Grow Gloucestershire’ initiative.
The £7.5 million of funding from the County Council will form part of a £24 million package along with match-funding from the Government and significant private sector investment. In practise the project will enable county-wide coverage of 2Mbps broadband by 2015 and as close to 100% coverage of 30Mbps as possible by 2018.
Commenting on this announcement Mr Clifton-Brown said: “The issue of poor broadband service in the Cotswolds is one that I have been aware of for some time and I have been lobbying strongly for action to be taken to improve the current situation. Broadband is, along with the A417, one of the two biggest infrastructure issues that limit Gloucestershire’s economic growth. For those people and businesses in rural areas, who for too long have had to put up with limited or non-existent broadband service, this issue has been particularly acute.”
“The news that the whole county will receive a service of at least 2Mbps by 2015 will undoubtedly be welcomed by the many internet users and business in the Cotswolds who rely heavily on good broadband speeds.”
“This will make a huge difference to the rural communities in the Cotswolds and I commend Gloucestershire County Council for their decision to heavily invest in the County’s infrastructure in order to stimulate economic growth in Gloucestershire.”
The £7.5 million of funding from the County Council will form part of a £24 million package along with match-funding from the Government and significant private sector investment. In practise the project will enable county-wide coverage of 2Mbps broadband by 2015 and as close to 100% coverage of 30Mbps as possible by 2018.
Commenting on this announcement Mr Clifton-Brown said: “The issue of poor broadband service in the Cotswolds is one that I have been aware of for some time and I have been lobbying strongly for action to be taken to improve the current situation. Broadband is, along with the A417, one of the two biggest infrastructure issues that limit Gloucestershire’s economic growth. For those people and businesses in rural areas, who for too long have had to put up with limited or non-existent broadband service, this issue has been particularly acute.”
“The news that the whole county will receive a service of at least 2Mbps by 2015 will undoubtedly be welcomed by the many internet users and business in the Cotswolds who rely heavily on good broadband speeds.”
“This will make a huge difference to the rural communities in the Cotswolds and I commend Gloucestershire County Council for their decision to heavily invest in the County’s infrastructure in order to stimulate economic growth in Gloucestershire.”
