So much of our lives rely on broadband and mobile phone signal, which is why I will prioritise improving it across our villages and towns.
I've successfully lobbied for many of our communities to be in the tranches of gigabit upgrades, including securing a place for 12,000 homes in Oakham and surrounding areas in the first phase of the Government's £5bn investment in Gigabit broadband for hard-to-reach-rural areas. Work began back in October 2021, and Uppingham was the first market town in the UK to have gigabit. When I was elected in 2019 to serve Rutland and Melton, only 10% of homes in the then constituency had access to gigabit broadband. After almost five years serving that constituency, I was proud gigabit coverage had expanded to 63%!
However, there is always more to be done and I have been working with the CEOs of the main mobile network operators and broadband providers in our communities to push for upgrades in poor areas of coverage.
In great news, twenty-four areas in our communities have received or are set to receive improved broadband, while thirteen areas have received 4G/5G upgrades, and six villages or towns have received commitments to resolve mobile phone connectivity as a result of us acting on your concerns. You can find an update on the areas receiving upgrades below.
I have been working with and continue to work with several providers, so if you live elsewhere which hasn't been mentioned, never fear, I'm working on it and more news will come as soon as I'm allowed to share it!
Broadband Coverage
As part of Project Gigabit landed by the Conservative Government in 2021 many residents will be connected to a new full fibre network for lightning-fast Gigabit speed broadband. The first communities to benefit are: Belmesthorpe, Birkholme, Bulby, Burton Le Coggles, Easton, Edenham, Elsthorpe, Great Casterton, Hawthorpe, Irnham, Lobthorpe, North Witham, Ryhall, Skillington, Stainby, Stamford (Hambleton/Lyndon Way), Stoke Rochford, Swayfield and Tinwell.
If you live in Harborough, South Kesteven or other Rutland villages, watch this space – more news will be coming soon on the next round of upgrades!
In addition to this, Openreach has looked into the broadband coldspots we identified locally, and I’m pleased to share the following locations will now receive Full Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) within the next two years: Market Overton, North and South Luffenham, Uppingham. FTTP was recently delivered to Stamford and is available to many in the area. If you live in a property without FTTP, you can still access Fibre to Cabinet Broadband. You can also register here to be kept updated of any changes in your area.
Mobile Phone Signal Coverage
Working with the CEOs of the main mobile phone network operators in our communities, I have been pushing for improved coverage in the ‘notspots’ identified in my survey.
Starting with VodafoneThree, I am pleased to share they have committed to resolve mobile phone connectivity issues in the following areas locally: Billesdon, Great Easton, Kirkby Underwood, Manthorpe, Market Overton, Uppingham. Additionally, VodafoneThree’s 5G Standalone (SA) infrastructure will be rolled out across our communities as part of a wider £11 billion investment programme.
My discussions with 02 have resulted in 5G upgrades being recently completed in: Cottesmore, Morcott, Northgate, Pilton, Hallaton, Billesdon, Noseley, Tilton on the Hill, Ketton. In the last 18 months O2 has completed a 4G capacity upgrade it its Whissendine site, 4G and 5G upgrades to their Grantham site, a new site as part of the Shared Rural Network Program in Edenham, and 45 and 5G upgrades to its Stamford site.
It’s good news that BT-EE has investigated all of the ‘notspots’ identified locally in my survey and will be looking into how coverage can be improved in these areas. I will update you when I have more.
In addition to the above improvements, base stations in South Witham and Great Casterton are being investigated for suitability for mobile phone infrastructure upgrades.
