Ultrafast Dragon seen in Gloucestershire
15th December, 2015
The
Green Dragon Pub in Cowley has become the best connected pub in the UK, with
visitors able to download a full length HD film quicker than the time it takes
to pull a pint of Guinness.
The
pub is the very first business to go live under the Fastershire Phase 2
broadband scheme, delivered in partnership between Gigaclear and
Gloucestershire County Council. This marks the start of Gigaclear’s ultrafast
pure fibre broadband service coming to thousands of homes and businesses in
rural Gloucestershire.
The
fastest Internet speeds ever witnessed in the county were recorded today as
local residents and members of Gloucestershire County Council gathered to test
out Gigaclear’s new Fibre-to-the-Premises technology. Broadband speeds of up to
950 Mbps upload and 950 Mbps download were achieved, with the switch on meaning
that staff, customers and guests were able to download a TV episode in 36
seconds, nearly 15 minutes faster than before.
Gigaclear’s
ultrafast Internet speeds, which are up to 30 times faster than the UK average,
are available as a result of a £7 million investment from Gigaclear and £3m
national funding from BDUK and Gloucestershire County Council. Fastershire was
the first project in the country to appoint an Internet service provider other
than BT, under the government subsidised scheme.
The
rollout will now continue, with residents in Coberley, Upper Coberley,
Cockleford, Colesbourne, Cowley, Elkstone, Seven Springs and Stockwell, set to
have access to Gigaclear’s ultrafast Internet service before Christmas. The
full rollout schedule to 2017 is available from www.fastershire.com/phase2.
Simon
Haly who, with his wife Nicky, manages the Green Dragon Inn said: "We
never expected to get anything like this so quickly, especially as we're right
in the middle of the countryside. Historically we've hardly had any speed at
all; it has been like dial-up! So to go from that to this level of
record-breaking speed is incredible.
"It's
going to have a big impact on our business too. For instance, around 10-20% of
our trade is business-related; we've nine guest rooms and two function rooms.
Being able to better serve this community is really important. In fact we had a
big business customer say that they'd no longer be able to use us for their
meetings if our broadband didn't improve - and that was a year's worth of
bookings. So this development today is fantastic news."
In
June, Gloucestershire County Council appointed Gigaclear as delivery partner
for Fastershire’s phase 2 broadband roll out. The Internet service provider will
give 6,500 homes and businesses in the Cotswolds access to broadband speeds of
up to 1Gbps.
Matthew
Hare, Chief Executive at Gigaclear, said: “This is an extremely exciting
time for Gigaclear and for the residents and businesses of the Cotswolds. Providing
the Green Dragon Inn with access to the UK’s fastest broadband will make it an
even more appealing venue for accommodation, events and socialising. Those
coming in for business lunches and meetings can check their emails without
having to go back to the office. For local residents, it means they can Skype a
friend across the world, download an HD film and do their Christmas shopping
online, all at ultrafast speeds without any buffering whatsoever. All in the
comfort of this fantastic local pub. We are working hard to get more customers
connected before Christmas.”
Cllr
Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Fastershire’s
partnership with Gigaclear is producing ultrafast results just eight weeks
after the first digging began, and I’m looking forward to how local residents
and businesses like the Green Dragon take advantage of the benefits of enhanced
broadband.”
Geoffrey Robert Clifton-Brown, Member of
Parliament for The Cotswolds, said: “It is brilliant news that the first ultrafast
broadband cabinet under the new Fastershire and Gigaclear partnership is being
launched. I welcomed this partnership when it was announced, having campaigned
during the General Election on the issue of broadband connectivity in The
Cotswolds, which is absolutely essential is the modern world. I look forward to
many more announcements of this kind.”