The Herefordshire County Council (HCC) in England's (UK) West Midlands region has announced that it is recruiting a force of local volunteers to help explain the benefits and deployment of faster broadband internet access services into local rural towns and villages.

The Hereford Times reports that the "local broadband champions" will be expected to help promote the importance of broadband and to keep communities informed about what is available to them.


Recent data suggests that the average broadband ISP download speed (modem sync rate - not real-world performance, which is usually even lower) in Herefordshire is just 5Mbps, which puts it well below the UK average of 7.5Mbps (Ofcom). The government further suggests that 83,962 homes and business in the region (99.8% of total premises) are classified as "White Premises", which would make them eligible for subsidy because they cannot currently get a good connection.

Happily the Broadband Deliver UK (BDUK) office has recently allocated a subsidy of £6,350,000 to help the region improve its broadband services.