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Rural Digital and Broadband

Although many rural communities have benefitted from broadband, overall they have fallen well short of the advantages in most urban areas.

High speed broadband improves access to services, quality of life, and business viability – one third of Britons working from home now live in rural areas. Most urban communities take for granted Internet banking, downloading music, eBay and BBC iPlayer, as well as accessing health services, such as NHS Direct as a first port of call of health problems.


Community First keeps up to date with developments in the role out of superfast broadband in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. We can advise on:

 

Which Broadband packages are available at your home or business.
 

Compare packages here: 

//www.cable.co.uk/comfirst/

 

  • Options for communities to implement their own broadband solutions, if you are in an area that is not expected to be connected by BT;
  • Essential Links to up to date information about Broadband in your area:

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Find out latest news and information

for Worcestershire Broadband here:

The Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme has been extended in to Worcestershire to enable eligible businesses and voluntary organisations to claim grants of up to £3000 towards the cost of upgrading to superfast broadband. Find out more here.

Other news and information for Worcestershire:

http://www.superfastworcestershire.com/home

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/superfast-worcestershire.aspx

for Herefordshire Broadband here: 

Digital inclusion in The Marches research and information pack

http://www.fastershire.com/homepage

 

Find out if your postcode is due to be connected, Where and When: 

 

http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/

 

Digital Inclusion

Digital inclusion is a big issue. That is making sure all communities know the benefits of broadband and know how to access the services they need. If you are supporting communities to use technology, access the internet and to get online in either Herefordshire or Worcestershire, we would like to hear more about what you are doing. We can even offer to publicise your project in our E-bulletin or Newsline publication.

Bad mobile phone coverage at home?

If you get bad mobile phone coverage at home or anywhere else you spend time, there is a move afoot to plot problem providers and areas, so this can be taken up with the mobile providers. It is early days so far, however, already the map makes interesting reading, perhaps surprisingly, the issues in major cities. Rural areas are not well populated yet, we assume because there has been little participation so far. So now is your chance to get rural areas on the map.

Please follow this link to view the map, and this link to register your issues.

Contact Mark Herriott if you have questions or want to share information about how you are helping get communities online and using technology and the internet:

01684 312752; markh@comfirst.org.uk

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