Why I am campaigning for better broadband in South Cambs
Across the country, a good internet connection is a vital lifeline for business and education, a crucial link to entertainment, the best way to stay informed, and a vital way we stay connected to friends and family.
This is particularly relevant in South Cambridgeshire. Over 550 respondents to my South Cambridgeshire Development Survey complained of still having poor broadband service, with signal speeds as low as 2 megabytes per second reported by some households. It is cruial for the Government to prioritise areas that currently have slow connections and which would otherwise have been left behind in broadband companies’ rollout plans.
“For many of us, a good internet connection was something to savour when working through the pandemic lockdowns. As well as a vital lifeline for business and education, it has been the only way to stay entertained, informed, and connected to friends and family.There is a real divide in South Cambridgeshire, where it has become a postcode lottery to secure the best connection speeds. This programme is not only a step in the right direction, but a leap towards faster speeds for everyone - the whole of Cambridgeshire will be able to live in the 21st Century.
I shall continue to work with the Government, service providers and Connecting Cambridgeshire to ensure everyone in our constituency has access to the services they need.
So far, I have
- Worked with local campaigners and businesses to fix individual issues with connection.
- Lobbied for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to be relaunched with a £210 million cash injection to give people in eligible rural areas immediate financial help to get gigabit speeds.
- Pushed for Gigabit broadband to be rolled out rapidly and ensure half of all households to have access to gigabit speeds.
- Met with and worked with Connecting Cambridgeshire, using maps to highlight issues to Government.
- Taken meetings with Ministers to discuss our concern, writing to the Minister for Digital Connectivity.
Campaign success
I lobbied for and welcomed the announcement today of the launch of Project Gigabit, a new £5 billion government scheme to bring the fastest broadband on earth to hard-to-reach areas. 120,00 to 140,000 homes and businesses in Cambridgeshire will be amongst the first to benefit from having next-generation gigabit broadband built to them in the first phase of this major new government infrastructure project.On top of this, the government is making up to £110 million available to connect public sector buildings - such as GP surgeries, libraries and schools - in the hardest to reach parts of the UK with this revolutionary infrastructure.
