Andrew Lansley backs businesses and campaign for better broadband
South Cambridgeshire’s MP continues to put his weight behind a campaign to help secure high speed broadband in rural areas – saying it is vital for businesses to thrive in his constituency.
Residents and businesses in South Cambridgeshire are already leading the charge to bring superfast broadband to the district, with over 3,800 businesses registering their demand for better broadband to support the countywide Connecting Cambridgeshire campaign that launched last month.
Latest figures show over 8,800 people have already registered in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – but more are needed to demonstrate the demand for better broadband.
MP Andrew Lansley met staff at Method Creative today (Friday) to hear how slow broadband at their offices affects their productivity due to the size of design files they need to send and receive.
Mr Lansley has praised his constituents for getting behind the campaign, saying: “This is excellent news for South Cambridgeshire and shows how strongly people feel about bringing high speed broadband access to the area for our businesses and communities to thrive.
“Telecoms providers generally offer good broadband coverage in urban and commercial areas, but this does not reach enough rural areas in the county, which is why I would urge everyone in Cambridgeshire to register to show where there is high demand for better broadband so we can attract investment from suppliers,” he said.
Kirsten Corrigan, Creative Director for Method Creative, said: “Securing effective broadband would enable us to better serve our international clients as well as global brands, such as Red Bull, as we need to continually interact with their servers throughout the day to make updates.
"Poor strength broadband can often make this problematic, especially if dealing with video content. To deliver an exceptional service for our clients we must be able to access up to date and sophisticated technology in line with industry norms – or risk losing out to London agencies who have access to improved infrastructure. It is good to hear our MP, County and District Councillors are all fighting our corner, and I will be trying to encourage the local businesses I work with to register on the Connecting Cambridgeshire website.”
Nick Wright, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s cabinet member for economic development, said: “Broadband is one of our top priorities as it is a burning issue for our residents and businesses. We already have a strong economy, but better broadband will help the area go from strength to strength and we need everyone to log on and register their support.”
Welcoming Andrew Lansley MP's support for the campaign, Cambridgeshire County Councillor Cllr Ian Bates, Cabinet Member for Growth and Planning, said: "We are getting fantastic support for the Connecting Cambridgeshire broadband campaign from people all over the county but many more are needed to show suppliers the level of demand from homes and businesses, particularly in rural areas."
Growing numbers of supporters are also backing the Connecting Cambridgeshire campaign by volunteering to become digital champions, but more are needed to explain the benefits of better broadband and encourage their friends, neighbours and colleagues to register.
Most people have registered their support online on the www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk website, while those without internet access have returned Freepost reply forms, which are widely available in libraries and council offices.
It only takes a minute to click on the link to register and it doesn’t commit you to anything. You just need to give your postcode and landline phone number.
Connecting Cambridgeshire is working with local councils and community groups to build a network of digital champions across the county to support the campaign. A Digital Champions pack of useful materials and links can be obtained by emailing your contact details to contact@connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk.