Cople Parish Council is looking at the issue of digital connectivity across the community. The Council is keen to see better connectivity, high speed broadband and mobile coverage, in as many premises as possible. Consequently, the Council is looking at the areas with poor connectivity, and the options to improve connectivity.
“Our vision is to enhance the livelihoods of all residents and visitors within the Parish by enabling them to enjoy the benefits of full connectivity”
Currently Cople has about 75% of premises accessing superfast broadband, defined as above 30 Mbps (megabits per second). The presence of superfast broadband in Cople is due to a Government and Bedford Borough Council investment in upgrading fibre infrastructure in 2015. The upgrade included deploying three fibre cabinets. The remaining 25% of premises are below the superfast speed level although some have benefitted from an increase in speeds.
Currently it is unlikely that there will be further commercial and/or public investment in fibre into the area. Therefore the Parish Council has identified options residents and businesses could look at to improve broadband speeds below
1. Check your speeds on the BT ADSL Checker here – https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL – You may be able to find out if your premise has access to faster speeds than you are currently contracted on.
2. Check Ofcom mobile and broadband checker here – https://checker.ofcom.org.uk for more information on mobile coverage and broadband speeds.
3. Contact your internet service provider to find out if they can provide faster speeds. Or if they have plans to increase speeds
4. Look at government initiatives on plans to bring better broadband across the UK.
a. Gigabit voucher scheme – https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk
b. Universal service obligation – https://www.bt.com/broadband/USO
5. Mobile broadband – look at the government’s Shared Rural Network project here – https://srn.org.uk for more information on how mobile broadband in rural areas is being developed.
Cople postcodes – broadband speeds:
