Hampshire's programme of improvement

The current situation with broadband in Hampshire

In Hampshire it is estimated that only 80% of the county will be able to access faster broadband speeds by 2013 through the commercial market and further investment is needed to reach more people.

Our role is to improve speeds for those people living in the predominantly rural areas that the commercial market currently doesn’t reach.  The public sector ‘gap funding’ is designed to stimulate investment and finance the shortfall where there are too few potential customers to cover the costs of the upgrade to the network infrastructure

A three year programme of improvements

It will take time to bring faster broadband to everyone in Hampshire and the overall programme will last for three years. Our immediate next steps are to secure a commercial partner to support and develop detailed implementation plans for the county.  We can then publish a timetable for the planned roll out.

The contract for the commercial partner is expected to be awarded in December 2012.  The broadband project will be phased, estimated to start in January 2013 with a three year implementation programme due to be completed by the end of 2015.

What factors will influence the roll out schedule?

The roll out schedule will be based upon the best use of public funds and will be co-ordinated with other local utility and road works to bring the least possible disruption to communities. Public demand will also be important in planning the delivery, since this will help fund the ongoing investment in the network infrastructure. Individuals and businesses are encouraged to continue to register their interest.

What about areas with really poor coverage?

Even with public sector funding, not everyone will get the fastest broadband. Today around 50,000 households and nearly 7,000 Hampshire businesses are in broadband ‘not spots’, with very slow broadband speeds of 2 Mbs or less. However everyone should see improvements over time, if they are below the minimum levels.

Become a community champion

Everyone can play an active part supporting the campaign. Community champions can help educate and inform people about the benefits that faster broadband can bring. They can also encourage individuals and businesses in their area to sign up to Hampshire County Council’s campaign, Faster broadband – getting Hampshire connected.