Scott Mann has welcome the news that more parts of North Cornwall are to get superfast broadband as part of a national £440 million windfall which will help up to 600,000 extra homes and businesses in the UK.
The cash boost is a combination of efficiency savings and a clawback mechanism which re-invests money when people take up superfast connections installed by the Broadband Delivery UK project.
As a result, BT will be releasing £292 million for extra connections – with £133 million already allocated to be spent in regions around the UK. Careful contract management by the Government, local authorities and BT has also saved more than £150 million across 44 projects as the first phase of rollout draws to a close.
It means a total of £442 million will be reinvested in taking superfast speeds to some of the most remote parts of the country, with Cornwall seeing a £7.6m investment.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said:
"Our Broadband Delivery UK programme is giving families and businesses in hard-to-reach areas the fast and reliable internet connections which are increasingly at the heart of modern life.
"Strong take-up and robust value-for-money measures mean £440 million will be available for reinvestment where it matters – putting more connections in the ground.
"This will benefit around 600,000 extra premises and is a further sign of our commitment to build a country that works for everyone."
In North Cornwall, seven areas will benefit from the rollout. These are: North Tamerton, Lanivet, Stoke Climsland, Turfdown, Helland, Treffry and Trebetherick.
Welcoming the news, Scott Mann said:
"I'm very pleased to hear that yet more communities in North Cornwall are set to benefit from superfast broadband.
"Cornwall is one of the best connected counties in Britain for broadband, but there are still many homes and businesses in rural areas which have yet to see superfast broadband brought to their doorstep.
"That's why I launched my 'Better Broadband for North Cornwall' campaign to help people who can't get a decent broadband connection or who are suffering from technical issues."
Superfast speeds (measured at 24Mbps) allow families to watch TV on multiple devices at the same time, or let children do homework while parents do online banking and shopping.
The technology is ideal for most businesses too, allowing bosses to run websites and buy and sell online, and is expected to carry on meeting these needs for years to come.
Scott Mann added:
"My office has a 'not spot' map which is used to plot constituents who want superfast broadband but have yet to be connected. Using this, we can raise awareness of where superfast broadband is needed. If you live in North Cornwall and want to have a superfast connection, please don't hesitate to contact my office in Bodmin."
Around 4.5million premises have been given access to superfast broadband through the Government’s £1.7 billion Broadband Delivery UK rollout, with more than 1.5 million signing up for a faster connection.
It means more than 90 per cent of the UK can now get superfast broadband – up from 45 per cent in 2010 .
The Culture Secretary added:
"We have made great progress but there is still more to do.
"Broadband speeds aren’t boosted automatically – it needs people to sign up. Increasing take-up is a win-win-win: consumers get a better service, it encourages providers to invest, and when more people sign up in BDUK areas, money is clawed back to pay for more connections."
