Essex County Council’s local broadband plan, ‘Superfast Essex Broadband’ has been approved by central government and now plans can be put into action on selecting a provider for the service and allocating areas for upgrade.
The aim of this project is to enable 90% of the Essex population to be able to receive Superfast Broadband by 2015.
Essex County Councillor Kevin Bentley, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, Waste & Recycling said, “This is great news and now our plans have been approved we can begin to implement them so residents will be able to see the benefits that Superfast Broadband can bring.”
As part of the plans the county council, along with borough partners, are asking residents to register the interest in getting Superfast Broadband by visiting www.essex.gov.uk/ruralbroadband. The Making the Connection campaign aims to encourage as many residents as possible to show their interest in faster broadband.
This does not guarantee an upgrade, however areas with the most residents registered will stand a greater chance of being selected as one of the first areas for upgrade.
Cllr Bentley added, “I would encourage our residents to go online and register their interest. I know that there are frustrations from the rural areas of Essex, and this is the chance to be part of the solution and do something about it. Sign up, encourage neighbours to sign up and Essex County Council will pass this information on to the selected provider and an upgrade plan can be put in place.”
If residents are unable to access the internet in their homes, they can visit local libraries to use the computers for free. Library staff will be on hand to assist anyone that isn’t sure.