This month sees the
end of phase 1 of the Connecting Shropshire programme and the start of phase 2,
which is expected to be completed in spring 2018. The programme is set to
transition seamlessly into phase 2 and parts of Beambridge, Ellesmere,
Merrington, Montford Bridge, Prees Industrial Estate, Stanton upon Hine Heath,
Uffington, and Weston Heath are expected to be able to make the switch to a
faster broadband service from this summer.
Shropshire Council has received responses from
telecoms suppliers for the third phase of the Connecting Shropshire broadband
programme. Known as phase 2b, the initiative is designed to bring superfast broadband
connections to premises where no commercial provision is currently in place or
planned. The bids are currently being evaluated by Shropshire Council and
Broadband Delivery UK. The outcome of the procurement is expected to be concluded
in April 2017, when we’ll have a better idea of which premises will benefit
from this additional £11.7m investment.
Whilst Connecting Shropshire is working to improve access to better
broadband, we also get contacted by residents and businesses enquiring about improving mobile phone coverage, both for voice and
data services. The online ofcom checker takes you to a page on
the Ofcom website where you can check which mobile network operator provides
the best coverage for your home or place of work.
Ofcom is running a research project to help them better understand how
mobile networks perform across the UK, as well as how people use their mobile
data services. Ofcom would like people to get involved by downloading their
‘mobile research app’.
More information is available on the Ofcom website. Anyone with an Android mobile phone can take
part in the project by simply downloading the Ofcom Mobile Research app. The app will then work quietly in the
background on your phone, automatically measuring the performance of any mobile
and Wi-Fi networks that you use.
If you’re in an area that already has access to fibre broadband, you may
have received a card like this through your letterbox to advise you on why and
how to upgrade:
It’s important for Connecting Shropshire to
encourage people to make the switch to fibre broadband because the more people
that do, the better connected the county is; meaning people are better able to
participate fully in modern life.
It’s also beneficial because, for every percentage point above 20%, Shropshire
Council will receive a revenue contribution (regardless of the ISP you sign-up
with) through the existing contract mechanism.
This could amount to millions of pounds during the lifetime of the project (30%
take-up would produce an extra £2.2m) and is the reason why we send out
carefully targeted marketing information to homes and businesses.
There are now 83 exchange areas "accepting orders" with one or more cabinets providing fibre broadband, thanks to Connecting Shropshire. The eight latest areas are:
