Faster News

Faster broadband comes to Hereford
24th January, 2019
Hundreds of homes and businesses across Hereford can now access superfast broadband for the first time thanks to Fastershire.
Read Full StoryHundreds of homes and businesses across Hereford can now access superfast broadband for the first time thanks to Fastershire.
Read Full StoryWay2Go Adventures is a family owned outdoor activity provider in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley, run by mother and son team, Dianne Worrall and Wayne Morgan. Dianne has accessed a range of business support and training offered by Fastershire, FasterBusiness programme.
Read Full StoryThis practical workshop will enable you to manage the digital farm office, gain confidence with online systems and protect your business. Fastershire is partnering with the Herefordshire Rural Hub to provide this free workshop.
Read MoreEastnor Castle, the Land Rover Experience Eastnor and D3 Active received a grant to fund the installation of a new broadband connection from Herefordshire Council’s Fastershire project. The grant has been used to purchase three lease line providing access to 100Mbps download and upload speeds.
Way2Go Adventures is a family owned outdoor activity provider in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley, run by mother and son team, Dianne Worrall and Wayne Morgan. Dianne has accessed a range of business support and training offered by Fastershire, FasterBusiness programme.
Read Full StoryLouise Roberts runs Alimenti Food Sciences and offers technical consultancy to small food and drink businesses. Louise has attended a range of FasterBusiness training sessions and had a one-to-one Business Review with FasterBusiness advisor, Jack McCaughtrie.
Read Full StoryClaire Howlett runs Wicton Farm, an organic dairy farm in the heart of the Herefordshire countryside, with her brother following the retirement of their parents three years ago. Claire returned to Herefordshire to run the family farm after previously working in Tanzania, Senegal and Cambodia for an international volunteering organisation.
Read Full StoryDawn McMullan-Cooper is a specialist speech and language therapist and regional makaton sign language tutor for Gloucestershire. Dawn shares her journey with social media & Faster Business since starting her business in 2015.
Read Full StoryLinda Pitcher is an artist who creates commissioned pet portraits; each individually presented in Linda’s handcrafted frames. Linda and her family moved to Herefordshire in 2015 and soon after, prompted by family health problems, she decided to make a change.
Read Full StoryTina Hurley owns Aloe 2 Good Life and is an independent distributor of Forever Living, selling a range of health and nutrition products. She also trains and supports people who want to run their own home-based business.
Read Full StoryThis practical workshop will enable you to manage the digital farm office, gain confidence with online systems and protect your business. Fastershire is partnering with the Herefordshire Rural Hub to provide this free workshop.
Location: The Hope Centre, Hereford Road, Bromyard, Herefordshire, HR7 4QU
Date: Wednesday 27th February 2019
Time: 10:30-15:00
MoreFastershire in partnership with Connecting Shropshire and Superfast Telford and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), have designed the Marches and Gloucestershire Broadband Grant.
Here's a list of business broadband providers who offer packages for businesses connected by Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) or Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), with links to their web sites, so you can find out if they're up and running where you live.
Click here to view FTTP providers >
Fibre to the premises (FTTP) is one of the world's most cutting edge types of fibre broadband with blistering speeds of up to 330Mbps and 1000Mpbs.
If you get enabled with FTTP, you can order it through one of the following Service Providers.
We'll update this page as more ISPs start to offer FTTP.
Here's a list of business broadband providers who offer packages for businesses connected by Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) or Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), with links to their web sites, so you can find out if they're up and running where you live.
Click here to view FTTP providers >
The Faster Business Review is a free discussion between you and one of the Faster Business Advisors. The session is tailored to your needs and can cover topics including, social media, online marketing, websites, e-commerce, online security, software and hardware.
Request a Faster Business Review
To request a FREE business review please complete the registration form at the bottom of the page and one of our business advisors will contact you to arrange your free face to face review.
Met with a Faster Business Advisor
Faster Business Social Score
Faster Business Action Plan
Faster Business Voucher & Exclusive Offers
With your action plan you will receive £100 worth of Fastershire Vouchers to help you deliver one of the actions. To claim your Faster Business voucher, please click here. These vouchers can be redeemed to pay for software subscriptions, online marketing or even a professional's time. As a Faster Business you will also have access to a range of exclusive offers from local businesses.
Faster Business Community
Join the growing number of local businesses across Herefordshire and Gloucestershire that are already benefiting from Faster Business support.
Faster Business Events
As a Faster Business you can benefit from a range of networking events and training sessions focusing on digital topics relevant to your business, for more information, click here.
Click here to see a range of exclusive offers and discounts >
Cost: Free
Location: Your premises (or as arranged)
Discussion topics: Troubleshooting, social media, connectivity, software, hardware but you can drill down into any particular area you feel would most benefit your business.
Duration: The discussion can last anything between a couple of hours and half a day.
Thanks to funding from the Government Equalities Office we have now run two Faster Women projects to support Herefordshire and Gloucestershire women to develop the digital and internet skills required to setup and develop their businesses. The second project ended in April 2016. We are now offering occasional workshops throughout the year.
Please register your interest through the link below if you would like to be notified when Faster Women workshop dates are confirmed.
If you are part of a local business network organisation that would be interested in providing workshops and training to your members and others please email faster-women@fastershire.com
Faster broadband provides an opportunity for businesses and potential entrepreneurs to take advantage of faster speeds to expand current or set-up new businesses, including home-based businesses, however the Women’s Business Council has found that for women in particular increasing digital confidence and internet know-how is key to this. Thanks to funding from the Government Equalities Office, Fastershire provided Faster Women networking opportunities, workshops and training for women to take advantage of how the internet can boost new and existing businesses.
Are you a successful business woman working in Herefordshire or Gloucestershire who would like to share how you’ve used the internet to effectively develop a business? Do you make the most of the benefits that using the internet can bring whether it’s marketing through social media, online selling, maintaining a website, cloud computing, running a business from home?
If you’d like to help shape future projects by sharing your own knowledge and experience of successfully using digital technology please get in touch.
The Fastershire broadband project and the Herefordshire Rural Hub have come together to create our Faster Farmers project, offering free support to agricultural and land-based businesses in the two counties.
Faster Farmers offers free training and advice to help farmers exploit new digital technology and methods of working to expand and grow their business. Please visit the events section for details of Faster Farmers workshops, and workshops available to all businesses.
Farming businesses can also request a free Faster Business review - for tailored one-to-one advice on your business's use of IT and the internet, covering topics such as social media, online marketing, websites, hardware, software and more. Please fill in the form here to request a review visit.
For any other information about Faster Farmers, please contact us.
The Fastershire broadband project and the Hereford Business Improvement District (HBID) have teamed up to create the Faster City project.
The Faster City project has developed a WiFi city centre scheme in Hereford that delivers three elements:
Hereford boasts the largest retail offer in the county with many of Herefordshire’s key retail and tourism businesses located in a highly concentrated area.
The Faster City project will enhance the shopping experience for consumers and help city centre retailers to understand and exploit the changing market trends
The scheme will also pave the way for other innovations including smart infrastructure including an upgraded CCTV circuit and interactive signage.
Faster City launches free WiFi network in Hereford City Centre.
To read the full story, please click here.
Faster broadband is being rolled out across Herefordshire and Gloucestershire between now but it is not possible to flick a switch to make every area go live on the same day and some areas will go live before this. Register your interest today and we will keep you in the loop about developments in your fibre broadband status.