South Downs MP welcomes ‘huge progress’ on rural broadband speeds

New figures from Building Digital UK, the Government organisation task with improving broadband speeds, show that 41.7% of residents in Arundel & South Downs now have access to ‘gigabit’ broadband (1000+ mbps download speeds) – representing a 618% increase in coverage since 2019. A total of 94.5% of residents now have access to superfast broadband (30-300 mbps download speeds), up from 91.2% in 2019.

Tens of thousands of residents across the MP’s constituency now have access to fibre-to-the-cabinet, across 36 communities, and work is underway as part of the Government’s Project Gigabit to connect thousands of other properties and businesses to superfast broadband in a £100 million investment across Sussex.

The Government is also working with mobile service providers to develop the Shared Rural Network to deliver 4G coverage across the whole of rural areas such as West Sussex.

Commenting on the news, Andrew Griffith MP said: “This huge progress on broadband in West Sussex is brilliant news for local residents.

I know how frustrating slow speeds can be when working from home or battling for bandwidth with family in the evenings. These improvements and unprecedented investment from the Government will be revolutionary in changing the way we can work, live and do business in rural areas.

I know mobile phone signal remains an issue for some residents in places like Petworth, Pulborough and Steyning, and so I will keep pressing for improvements in these areas.”