Mayor's £1 million Commitment Confirms Bedford Borough Will Again Receive Full Benefit of Government Broadband Rollout

Following on from Bedford Borough's successful inclusion in the Government's 'Rural Broadband Programme' to roll out Superfast to 90% of premises and at least basic broadband to all, Mayor Dave Hodgson has confirmed the Council's commitment to provide the £1 million required to ensure the Borough benefits in full from the Superfast Extension Programme to expand superfast access to at least 95% of properties by 2017.

Bedford Borough Council is currently involved in the Government's national Rural Broadband programme to make superfast broadband available to 90% of homes and businesses by 2016 and broadband speeds of at least 2 Mbps available to all homes and businesses.

The Council's involvement in the national extension programme to reach 95% of premises, including match-funding the project locally, means thousands more homes and businesses, especially in rural parts of the borough, will be included by 2017. Mayor Dave is continuing to press for all communities to have superfast access as soon as possible.

Commenting, Mayor Dave Hodgson said: "I think all communities across Bedford borough should have access to Superfast broadband, and this project will go a long way towards achieving that goal.

"Slow or disrupted internet access is hugely damaging to rural businesses and makes what should be routine work or personal tasks increasingly difficult for rural residents.

"While the big broadband providers are reluctant to invest in less densely populated areas, we will keep working on their behalf in order that as soon as possible this problem for rural households is eradicated completely."

For more information on broadband in Bedford Borough, please visit: www.bedford.gov.uk/broadband.

Broadband is classified as 'Superfast' for speeds of greater than 24 Megabits per second, while 'basic broadband' is defined as greater than 2Mbps.