Faster Broadband Planned for Rural Lincolnshire

News release

17th August 2012

Plans to bring faster Internet connections to rural areas of Lincolnshire received a boost on Monday night from local councillors and business people.

Lincolnshire County Council has pledged to ensure areas like Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards are not left behind when it begins to roll out its OnLincolnshire broadband programme, commencing next year.

This community support activity which is part funded by the East Midlands European Regional Development Fund is part of the £57 million council-led OnLincolnshire project which aims to provide broadband speeds of at least 24 Megabits per second (Mbps) for 90% of homes and businesses in the county, and a guaranteed 2Mpbs for the remaining premises by 2015.

It will look to convince commercial broadband suppliers that there is sufficient demand for greater broadband connections in Lincolnshire. Consultants said they were exploring ways to provide faster connectivity to the area at a meeting in the Royal Arthur Centre in Ingoldmells on Monday.

Some Internet users in rural Lincolnshire experience speeds of less than 1 Mbps. The UK’s average broadband speed is 7.6 Mbps, according to Ofcom.

“Improvements in broadband connectivity is essential for the Lincolnshire coast. Local businesses are losing out to competitors from better connected areas,” said Russell Wallis, Director of Globe Consultants, which is working on behalf of the council.

“Tourism destinations in this area cannot become more efficient and environmentally-friendly because they need good internet connections to do so.”

Community groups and businesses in other rural parts of the UK are also banding together to solve connectivity issues. In Lancashire, The Broadband for the Rural North project saw residents dig 270km of trenches to lay fibre cables. And in Norfolk, church spires are being used to help residents’ Wi-Fi connections.

“All these initiatives are demonstrating that the problems of rural internet connectivity are not insurmountable, but none of them will happen without support from both the local community and local businesses,” said John Popham, a rural broadband expert who is working for the council.

“It is vital that residents and employers come together to make better broadband a reality in Ingoldmells, Chapel St Leonards, and surrounding areas,” he said.

Notes to Editors

• The pilot schemes are part a separate 30-month project, being run as part of the OnLincolnshire campaign, which aims to ensure that rural areas and less well-off communities in Lincolnshire are not left behind and unable to reap the economic, health and education benefits superfast broadband offers. The project also supports Lincolnshire's strategic vision to have widespread use of digital technologies by 2030.
• The demand and supply stimulation side of the Rural Broadband Pilots project is being run on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council by specialist consultants CDI Alliance Ltd with Lincoln based associate Globe Consultants.
• The project is being part-financed by the East Midlands European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013.
• The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf

Cerri Delaney
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
cerri@shootingstar-pr.co.uk
www.shootingstar-pr.co.uk
t: @cerridelaney

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