Faster News
Vicarious Productions, a film and television production facility based in Edvin Loach, is one of 400 premises in hard-to-reach communities who have gone from being among the worst connected areas in the UK to having access to some of the fastest internet in the country.
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Home Stories
In the second Pudleston community diary, Zoe, 33 years old mother of two, describes the difficulties she faces trying to study from home with poor broadband.
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Events
Fastershire are hosting a community meeting to explain the stage 4 rollout being delivered by Airband.
The stage 4 Fastershire rollout is seeking to provide faster broadband access to some of the properties that were not reached under the project's previous deployment or commercial rollout.
Ultra fast download and upload speeds of up to 1Gbps will be delivered using Fibre to the Premises technology to 6,495 hard to reach homes and businesses in the Cotswolds under phase two of the Fastershire project.
This means that by the end of the
rollout in 2017, some of the most difficult to reach communities such as
Guiting Power, Chedworth, Whelford, Bibury and Icomb will get ultra fast
broadband.
This expansion represents
Fastershire’s first step in reaching beyond the 90 per cent coverage for faster
broadband being delivered in phase one of the project.
Geoffrey Clifton Brown, MP for the
Cotswolds, said: “The announcement that 6,495 homes in some of the harder to
reach areas of The Cotswolds will receive a good broadband service sounds like
wonderful news.
During the election I campaigned
on the theme that I would work to deliver a good broadband service for most
people in The Cotswolds. This announcement looks like it will go a long way to
fulfil that pledge.”
Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said:
“Fastershire was the first national broadband project to develop a plan for
reaching the final 10 per cent of homes and businesses with faster broadband.
“Fastershire phase two will enable
us to provide faster broadband to some of the county’s most difficult and
isolated areas. We look forward to the opportunities that the improved
broadband speeds will bring to the Cotswolds.”
The total rollout budget for this contract is £10 million, with £3M coming
from Fastershire’s Superfast Extension Programme (SEP) and up to £7M from
private investment by Gigaclear. This will make Fastershire the first national
fibre broadband project to award SEP investment to any other bidder than BT.
A total of £5.46m for the SEP has
been provided by the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) department and
matched by Gloucestershire County Council.
Matthew Hare, CEO of Gigaclear, said: “Residents and businesses in the Cotswolds
want great broadband. We are convinced that as in other rural areas that we
already serve, the demand for the pure fibre, ultrafast broadband service that
Gigaclear delivers will be substantial.
“What was refreshing about this
tender was the identification of the specific addresses of the 6,495 properties
that the contract sought to serve. This clarity gave us the confidence to offer
our Gigabit fibre broadband service to every single property in the tender.”
Mark Aveline, Chedworth Broadband
Champion said: “This is great news because for four long years rural Cotswolds
communities have been waiting for fast broadband. What Gigaclear will provide
is the best possible solution of fibre to the homes in the final 10 percent not
served by existing rollouts.
“The new service will be the envy
of all and provide a major boost for the rural community. Congratulations to
Fastershire for the innovative contract which encouraged lateral thinking among
suppliers and to Gigaclear for their financial investment and commitment to
what will surely be a showcase service.”
With a slow internet connection you can have problems doing more than one thing at a time online. With faster broadband the whole family can be online doing homework, watching iPlayer, keeping in touch with friends on Skype or Facetime and doing the weekly shop all at the same time without any time delay or frozen screen.
Working from home can now be as fast and effective as working from the office. This could save you time and money, as well as helping you to achieve a better work life balance. With faster broadband you could even consider setting up your own business from home as you would have the world class connectivity that could give you the edge.
Store photos, documents, music and videos online in the cloud rather than on the computer at home. Your files will be kept safe and you can access them anywhere. Fast upstream speeds mean backing up files is done in the blink of an eye.
With faster broadband you can download the latest blockbuster before the kettle has boiled or watch your favourite TV show online instantly.
With faster broadband you can study online with flexible hours and video tutorials that work immediately.
New telecare services mean that people who are unwell, have a disability or older people can stay safe and independent at home.
Did you know that you can now access a whole host of council services and information online, such as reporting a pothole, paying your council tax, finding out when your rubbish or recycling will be collected and checking library opening times?
Visit: Do it online in Herefordshire Visit: Do it online in Gloucestershire
Pudleston in north Herefordshire is one of the communities that we be fibre enabled under phase 2 of the Fastershire rollout. Phase 2 will be delivered by Gigaclear and will provide a new full fibre network and access to speeds up to 1000mbps.
In these community diaries the residents of Pudleston will document their experiences throughout the deployment.
To see if your property is included in phase 2 or if you can already access faster broadband, please use the address checker above.
In the second Pudleston community diary, Zoe, 33 years old mother of two, describes the difficulties she faces trying to study from home with poor broadband.
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'Babs' and her family live in Pudleston, Herefordshire, and in this entry discuss moving to Herefordshire and the challenges they face due to slow broadband.
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In this piece, the community introduce their home, Pudleston, located in north Herefordshire and is one of the communities that we be fibre enabled under phase 2 of the Fastershire rollout delivered by Gigaclear.
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The 'Keep Connected' grant is being offered by Herefordshire Council and Fastershire to help groups and organisations in Herefordshire change their approach so that they can continue to deliver their activity, service or support during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Groups and organisations can access a grant up to £500 to fund new software subscriptions, online platforms or technology, such as microphones, headsets, cameras or large screens, and will have access to free expert support to help them set-up and operate the new technology. Community groups, registered charities, Social Enterprises, Community Interest Companies and Parish/Town Councils may apply.
Click here for essential information to read before applying. Click here for an application form. (Please note that applications for Laptops are likely to be refused.)
Community groups looking for non-digital support should contact their local Talk Community Hubs project manager by emailing talkcommunityhubs@herefordshire.gov.uk .
Local community organisations, groups, clubs and other not-for-profit organisations in Herefordshire can apply for up to £2,500 funding to arrange internet support and training so that local people can make the most of the benefits of going online.
Click here for further information and an application form or email go-online@fastershire.com
Do you know of a group or club in your community in Herefordshire who would like to find out more about using the internet and the benefits of going online?
Fastershire can arrange for a tutor to bring laptops and tablets to the group’s usual meeting place, or another venue with internet access, to demonstrate how to send emails, search for information about the local area, or shop or pay bills online, and then support them to ‘have a go’ themselves.
To find out more please email go-online@fastershire.com. These free sessions could lead to a longer course for those who are interested in developing their skills at going online. These face-to-face group sessions are currently unable to take place due to COVID-19 restrictions, however please do get in touch if you would like us to let you know when they restart.
Learn My Way (www.learnmyway.com) is a website of free online courses for beginners, helping you to develop digital skills to make the most of the online world. It's also got courses and resources to help you inspire people in your community to use the internet and help them improve their digital skills - including a 'How to be a Digital Champion' course.
We also have a whole host of training guides here that you can download for your own learning or to use when training someone else.
There are many organisations across Herefordshire who regularly offer computer courses and support for beginners. Information about just some of the training offered is available here. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, please contact the organiser for up-to-date information on whether they are open and offering training.
For details of the free monthly workshops at Libraries in Herefordshire visit our events page. These aren't running currently due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Please complete the form and we will contact you as soon as this changes.
Details of beginners' computer courses offered by Adult Education in Gloucestershire are here. Please contact them for up-to-date information on whether they are currently able to offer training.
If you would like to be notified about beginners’ computer courses offered by organisations in Herefordshire please complete this form.
Here's a list of home broadband providers who offer packages for homes 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 1000Mbps.
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.
Location: Ross-on-Wye Library, 7 Cantilupe Road, Ross-on-Wye HR9 7AN
Date: Tuesday 27th February 2018
Time: 17:00-19:00
Ross-on-Wye Library, 7 Cantilupe Road, Ross-on-Wye HR9 7AN
Below is a list of videos from our YouTube channel.
Get the most out of the internet with FREE training from Fastershire in Ross-on-Wye and Cinderford.
Booking is essential, please call 01432 260026.
No experience is necessary and equipment will be provided if required.
The Larruperz Centre, Grammar School Close, HR9 7QD
How to use your tablet
Wednesday 6 June, 2pm-4pm
How to use the internet
Monday 11 June,10am-12pm
Introduction to email
Friday 22 June, 5pm-7pm
Belle Vue Centre, 6 Belle Vue Road, GL14 2AB
How to use the internet
Tuesday 5 June, 10am-12pm
Introduction to email
Wednesday 13 June, 2pm-4pm
How to use your tablet
Monday 18 June, 5pm-7pm
96,516 Faster homes & 
99
exchange areas 
7,000 km of 
621
cabinets 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'll let you know when you can order.
Internet Training
Videos
Home Benefits
