Lucy Allan, the MP for Telford, has welcomed today’s announcement that the Government has delivered on its commitment to extend superfast broadband to 95 per cent of UK premises by the end of 2017.
This significant milestone, which has been described as an “extraordinary achievement” by the CEO of Openreach, means superfast speeds are now a reality for more than 4.5 million homes and businesses that would otherwise have missed out.
And, this progress is set to continue, as the Government aims to fulfil its election promise of making affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband a legal right to everyone by 2020.
Announcing the milestone earlier this morning, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Matt Hancock MP confirmed:
- More than 19 out of 20 UK homes and businesses now have the opportunity to upgrade their internet connections to superfast speeds of 24 Mbps or faster.
- Rollout of superfast broadband to areas deemed ‘not commercially viable’ by industry has so far reached more than 4.5 million UK premises that would otherwise have been left with slow connectivity.
- This closing of the ‘digital divide’ has delivered a significant boost to local economies, generating nearly £9 billion in additional turnover in the areas covered by the Government rollout.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Lucy Allan MP said:
“This is absolutely fantastic news, and shows that the Government is holding true to its election promise of making access to high-speed broadband a legal right
“It is also great for enterprise, jobs and growth, which depend on good connectivity
“Broadband speeds in Telford are now 23% above the national average, and more than half of the constituency’s connections are registering speeds over 30 Mbps
“And while there is more to do in some areas of Telford, I am confident we will see improvements at local exchanges very soon”
