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. When I was elected in 2019, only 10% of homes in Rutland and Melton had access to gigabit broadband, that now stands at 63%!
However, there is always more to be done and I'm working hard to improve broadband access and speeds in all our rural communities.
