As part of our 'Better Broadband for Wealden' project, the LSP and Wealden District Council are keen to demonstrate to telecoms companies and broadband providers, the need for high speed broadband in the District.
Many Uckfield businesses and residents are now able to benefit from Fibre-to-the-Cabinet, delivering high speed connectivity to the town. Broadband speeds vary in the rest of Wealden from zero availability to 20 Mbps, or higher at businesses sites where top speed services have been bought in.
High speed broadband is becoming increasingly important in business and home life. The LSP has particular concerns that the growing need for 'next generation' broadband among young people, businesses and for 'tele-health'. See our 'Next Generation Fund' consultation response for more information.
The Government is now rolling out a Next Generation Access programme through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK). This programme operates at a county-wide level, and East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is preparing the local delivery plan. Wealden LSP and Wealden District Council are working closely with the County Council on this plan, more news of which can be seen in the minutes of the September Wealden LSP meeting (PDF) or on the ESCC website.
During 2011, Wealden LSP ran a demand registration questionnaire on this website. Demand registration and stimulation is one of the most important actions local authorities can take to increase the likelihood of broadband being delivered in their area. As part of the county-wide programme, we are encouraging Parish and Town Councils and other community groups to organise a broadband project and engage local people through the Rural Broadband Partnership (external link).
We have produced a Case Study for Broadband Project Start-ups (PDF), which aims to be a useful resource for communities that are planning their own project. The document covers broadband technology, supporting evidence, funding sources, legal and procurement issues, project management, interested parties and communications.
We are very grateful to all residents and businesses who signed up to the Wealden LSP programme. This data has been shared with the organisers of local community projects and with ESCC, where the respondent consented. This brief summary of the demand registration survey results (PDF) has been sent to respondents. ESCC will shortly be launching a demand registration website accessible from their superfast broadband webpage (external link).
We plan to work with local communities to develop 'broadband action plans' for their area and provide information about improving local access to the internet and download speeds. We hope to be able to organise workshops for local people to increase confidence and use of the internet.
We have also teamed up the local communities in Isfield and Little Horsted, Heathfield and Waldron parish and Upper Dicker to develop broadband infrastructure projects.
This project builds on the LSP's long-term interest in the field of internet access. One of our key priorities is to "encourage small, clean, high-skill businesses with minimal transport needs, e.g. the knowledge based sector, culture, sport and arts", and we have a specific priority to "develop the use of broadband, particularly for electronic communication and websites, and encourage more active networking amongst local businesses".