As the map illustrates, much of Whitehill and Bordon is already covered by commercial providers, but surrounding villages and remaining pockets of land are set to benefit from the second phase of the project.
As part of Whitehill and Bordon’s regeneration, the highest standard of broadband and mobile-signal provision (contentious issues for some residents) have been promised - digital infrastructure that is considered essential for a thriving local economy.
Mr Perry gave the green light to plans which will extend superfast speeds of 24 megabits per second (Mbps) to 97.4 per cent of county properties by 2019.
But residents in some rural patches of East Hampshire left unmarked can register their interest on www.hampshiresuperfast
broadband.com, with the county council vowing to leave no one behind.
“This is vital investment to ensure Hampshire businesses and families continue to thrive in today’s digital world, particularly in harder-to-reach, rural parts of the county, which make up the remaining few per cent,” Mr Perry said.
“We are committed to leaving no one behind. As a county council, we do not have any statutory obligations to increase access to superfast broadband – that rests with the Government.
“However, we recognise that this infrastructure is crucial for the future prosperity of the county which is why we’re continuing to invest in this technology with our partners, such as BT, to support the local economy, help pupils with education and homework, and reduce social isolation by making it easier for people to communicate online.”
Wave one of the Hampshire Superfast Broadband scheme has already delivered quicker broadband to 59,500 premises, increasing coverage from 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the county.
Wave two will deliver to a further 34,500 premises by September 2018, increasing coverage from 90 per cent to 96 per cent of Hampshire properties. The new £7.8m extension of wave two will increase access to another 8,500 properties by 2019. This will boost superfast coverage to 97.4 per cent of the county.
A further 2,000 premises could be reached through the £1m Community Match Funding Scheme, which allows the county council to provide up to half of the cash for communities which want to self fund.
By 2019, the end of the programme, the county council will have invested £12.9m, with an extra £16.4m from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and £1.25m from district councils. A further £7.8m became available from existing funding and “gainshare”, a clause in the contract with BT which releases more funding, to be reinvested if more people than expected sign up to superfast broadband.
“We will be making further approaches to the Enterprise M3 and Solent Local Enterprise Partnerships and district councils to ask them to join our commitment and invest more funding in the superfast broadband programme - and help as many Hampshire residents as we can,” Mr Perry added.
Stacey King, BT’s regional partnership director for the South East, said: “Today’s announcement is another important milestone for a partnership which is making great progress.
“Working with Hampshire County Council, we are able to bring high-speed fibre broadband to locations where the economics and engineering are more challenging. High-speed fibre broadband is increasingly important and this is a great opportunity for more homes and businesses to make the most of the wide range benefits offered by the internet.”
Detailed plans will be developed to identify the specific areas to benefit from the new extension.
With the infrastructure in place, residents and businesses then need to sign up for the improved broadband service via their choice of internet-service providers.
At his policy and resources decision day, on December 14, Mr Perry rubber-stamped the £7.8m extension.
To check your address, visit hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com.
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