Gloucestershire set to get super fast broadband service

Gloucestershire County Council is ready to invest GBP 7.5 million for bringing high speed broadband for the county, matching an equal amount of government fund.

Mark Hawthorne of the council stated that high speed broadband in the whole county, especially in the rural areas, will generate new opportunities for businesses, employment for the youth, entertainment for the residents and facilitate ‘online’ studies for the students. He expects substantial contribution from the private sector also for the purpose.

The whole county will be able to get a down load speed of 2 Mbps by 2015. That will be increased to 30 Mbps by 2018.

Chris Kenny of Gillian Kenny Associates, a medical market research firm wanted to relocate his business because video streaming was important for his business but found it impossible due to low internet speeds in his area. Having learnt the new proposal of the county council he has changed his mind. He opines that in the tough competitive field broadband access as available for the people of London and Birmingham should be made available in the whole of Gloucestershire as well.

Diane Savory of Local Enterprise Partnership of Gloucestershire remarked that fast and reliable broadband services enable the businesses to compete in the national and international market. But faster broadband will do much more than that and will ensure the growth of the whole county.