Desire for Broadband Investment Outranks Rail and Roads in SW England

A new poll of 2,008 people in the South West, which was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of UK ISP TrueSpeed, has found that the desire for faster broadband outranks other vital local infrastructure investments such as new bus or rail links (44%), roads (42%) and more electric car charging points (22%).

The ‘State of Broadband in South West England’ study also found that almost half (46%) of respondents think greater local access to faster broadband will boost their local area’s economy. People in Devon were most in favour with 49%, followed by Dorset (47%), Somerset (46%), Gloucestershire (44%) and Wiltshire (42%).

However almost half (48%) claim to experience broadband connectivity problems at least once a week, with a similar proportion (46%) saying they experience “average“, “slow” or “very slow” home broadband speeds. Mind you this is roughly in keeping with the proportion of the UK that still subscribe to older and slower ADSL lines, which is often despite faster connections being available to order in the area.

TrueSpeed is currently in the process of using a £75m investment to build a new 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across rural parts of South West England (i.e. Devon, Gloucestershire , Herefordshire , Somerset and Wiltshire) and they hope to cover 75,000 premises by 2021 (possibly 200,000 by 2025). Suffice to say that the operator has somewhat of a vested interest in the survey results.

Evan Wienburg, CEO and co-Founder of TrueSpeed, said:

“People in the South West recognise the myriad ways that better broadband connectivity can kick-start the region’s digital economy, boost productivity, improve work/life balance, and give more of our young people the opportunity to remain in the South West by taking advantage of the resultant boom in jobs.

We already have the technology to bring greater prosperity to this beautiful region and give our next generation of entrepreneurs the platform they need to compete with the rest of the country and further afield. We simply need local government to push a little harder to fast-track our digital future.”

Other Highlights from the Survey

* The primary economic benefit of better broadband connectivity is helping local businesses to reach new customers outside the region, according to 40% of respondents, followed by the ability to attract more talent (33%) and the creation of more local jobs (26%).

* Just over a quarter (26%) say better broadband will reduce local traffic and congestion thanks to improved home-working opportunities. This figure rises to 30% among the 35-54 demographic.

* Fast broadband speeds for work are a must-have for around two-thirds (63%) of respondents, rising to more than three-quarters of 25-44 year olds, who describe themselves as ‘reliant’ on fast internet connectivity, a figure that’s even higher than the 67% of 16-24 year olds surveyed – perhaps because some of this age group are yet to enter full-time employment.

* Bristol is the best place to live and work in the South West from a broadband perspective, with around a third (36%) reporting average or slow speeds; Cheltenham, Gloucester and Swindon are snapping at their neighbour’s heels with 38% each.

* The counties with the worst broadband speeds tend to be those characterised by dispersed, underserved rural communities. In Devon and Dorset, almost half (49% and 48% respectively) report average, slow or very slow speeds, with Somerset faring slightly better at 43%, albeit boosted by Bristol’s good connectivity.