Good News on Faster Broadband

The need for faster, more reliable broadband is a real problem for households and businesses in a number of our communities in Bedford Borough, particularly in many rural areas. That's why we have been working on a project to boost speeds and improve connections, and we've had some great news on this front with confirmation that we've been successful in our bid for Government funding. £440,000 from the Government body BDUK will now join match funding provided locally to help deliver the project. We submitted a bid jointly with Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes Council, and have been gathering support for the plan and building the evidence of the significant demand in the Borough for better broadband.

Decent broadband connection is vital for local businesses and for residents, and we are doing all we can to make sure we stay ahead of the game on faster broadband. The targets we've set are for superfast broadband to be delivered to at least 90% of households and businesses by 2015 along with a minimum of standard broadband for the remaining 10%, some of which are currently without access at all. With government funding secured, we are now in a position to set about identifying and appointing a provider to deliver this crucial project for our Borough.

In the meantime our campaign to build support for faster broadband and send a message to broadband providers that they should invest in better broadband for Bedford continues. I urge local residents and businesses that haven't done so already to sign up to show their support and help send that message loud and clear.

To sign the petition supporting faster broadband for Bedford Borough go to www.bedford.gov.uk/broadband