11,000 more Hampshire homes and business will get access to superfast broadband

Hampshire council has revealed the locations where 11,000 premises will be in reach of superfast broadband in its extended broadband rollout.

Rural parts of Romsey, New Forest, East Hampshire and Basingstoke will be upgrade as part of phase three of Hampshire’s Superfast Broadband Programme.

Areas including Lockerley, Lymington, Milford-on-Sea, Brockenhurst, Sway, Liphook, Headley Down, Alton, Tisted, Selbourne and Herriard are set to get faster internet speeds as a result.

The programme aims to provide at least 90 per cent of all premises with access to superfast broadband – over 24Mbps inthis case – by the end of 2015, the rest getting a minimum of 2Mbps.

Leader of Hampshire County Council, Roy Perry, said: “Superfast broadband is increasingly important if local households and businesses are to make the most of the huge range of opportunities offered by the internet.”

The Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), together with the County Council and other local government partners, invested £10 millon in the programme to reach 90 per cent of premises by the end of 2015.

The County Council and DCMS will provide additional funding totalling £18.4 million to extend coverage to at least 95 per cent of premises by the end of 2017. BT has contributed a further £3.8 million towards the cost of installing the new infrastructure.

Peter Cowen, BT’s regional partnership director for the South East, said the announcement was a milestone and was making ‘real progress’.

“High-speed fibre broadband is increasingly important if local households and businesses are to make the most of the huge range of opportunities and reap the benefits offered by the internet, whether they are seeking to start a new business, find new customers, undertake on-line training or simply wish to browse for entertainment or leisure purposes,” he said.

The new FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) network is open to all broadband service providers on an equal basis, and can reach top speeds of 76Mbps for those within a few hundred metres of their local fibre cabinet.