The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport have recently released their report from the July stakeholders briefing regarding superfast and ultrafast broadband coverage in Northamptonshire. It outlines some of the real progress being made in the provision of broadband in Daventry, Wellingborough and South Northamptonshire
For superfast broadband (speeds above 24Mbps), Daventry District has a coverage of 94.7% which is only 2% behind the current England national average of 96.7%. In Wellingborough the superfast coverage is at 99.1% which is outstanding as it is above both the England national average, the Northamptonshire average of 98.1% and the GB urban average of 98.5%. The coverage of superfast in South Northamptonshire is currently at 96.2% only 0.5% behind that of the English average. For Ultrafast broadband (speeds above 100Mbps), Daventry District is also behind the national average of 60.2% with an average coverage of 17.9%. However, Northamptonshire still compares well to some other areas, and there is clear evidence of ongoing improvements to our broadband services.
I understand what good broadband means to all of my constituents. I recently sent out a residents’ survey to find out which local issues my constituents felt were most pressing. Almost 1/3 of responses cited broadband one of their major concerns. Good broadband speeds is not only important for personal use, but also for businesses in Daventry and the local economy.
For this reason, I am glad to see the progress being made toward meeting the national targets. More details of this progress is outlined in the report below.