Tom Charman

PhD Student Tom Charman

PhD student Tom Charman was at a pivotal point in his studies when the first national lockdown forced him to work from home with what he describes as a “virtually non-existent” internet connection.

After 18 months of living in Switzerland as part of his PhD, Tom moved back to his family home in Needham Green, near Hatfield Broad Oak, at the beginning of March 2020. He’d planned to spend the next year commuting to his university in London, to complete his research.

But not long after, the first national lockdown began and Tom found himself grappling with an internet connection so bad, he could hardly get anything done.

“It was super slow, like 1Mbps on a good day,” he says. “I had to download things onto my computer over many days and then do what I could locally.”

In the end, the connection proved to be so unreliable, Tom had to apply for extra funding from his university to make up for the time he’d lost. “I was lucky to be in that position,” he says. “If I wasn’t in my final year, I might not have been awarded the extra money.”

By June, Tom was even considering moving – but then he discovered network operator Gigaclear were laying fibre optic cables in his area as part of Superfast Essex’s full fibre rollout. Soon after, he came across the Superfast Essex website and signed up to be a Broadband Champion.

“I was already keeping track of the network build in our area, so I thought it made sense to also keep the community informed,” he says.

Since the rollout, he’s helped several people in his community switch over to a full fibre broadband package. “It’s nice when people message you and say how good it is now and that they’re really happy,” he says.

For Tom, getting access to full fibre has dramatically changed how he’s able to work. “I can do everything now! I can participate in meetings, and give a presentation and not worry about getting cut off halfway through or people not being able to hear me properly.

“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders because I was even considering moving. Now I can go all in on hunkering down here until I finish my PhD.”

He's also able to keep in touch with friends more, and because there’s no limit on how many things can be streamed at once, it makes life easier at home. “Before, we could stream one thing between the whole household and had to be diplomatic, which is easier said than done sometimes!”

He adds: “I still find it unbelievable that I live so remotely but I have some of the fastest internet in the country.”

If you’re a resident or business struggling with your broadband speeds, like Tom was, remember to check if superfast broadband is available or if your address is in plans to be upgraded to superfast speeds using the Superfast Essex rollout map: www.superfastessex.org/interactive-maps

Become a Broadband Champion to help keep your community up to date on all things related to broadband!