£5 billion plan to upgrade broadband should give thousands of people in Harborough 'lightning-fast speeds', says local MP

A £5 billion Government blueprint to dramatically upgrade broadband nationwide will give thousands of people in Harborough “lightning-fast speeds” says local MP Neil O’Brien.

Some 118,400 homes and businesses in Leicestershire and Warwickshire will get access to the fastest broadband speeds on the market.

The Project Gigabit fund is taking the digital infrastructure for millions of people in hard-to-reach areas to a whole new high-tech level.

“For too long, homes and businesses in Harborough have suffered from poor internet connectivity, leaving families battling for bandwidth and businesses unable to take advantage of emerging online markets across the world.

“That is why the Government is investing £5 billion as part of Project Gigabit,” said Neil.

“It will bring speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second to homes and businesses in Harborough - with the total number of premises covered to 2.2 million across the country.

“Some 60 per cent of all households will have access to gigabit speeds by the end of the year - the fastest rollout in Europe.

“The broadband revolution will not only bring reliability and connectivity to rural homes.

“It will also fire up high-growth sectors, create jobs and allow everyone to access the lightning-fast speeds they deserve,” said the Conservative MP.

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Project Gigabit is our national mission to level up rural areas by giving them the fastest internet speeds on the market.

“Millions more rural homes and businesses will now be lifted out of the digital slow lane thanks to our mammoth £5 billion investment and one the quickest rollouts in Europe.

“This broadband revolution will create jobs, power up businesses and allow everyone to access vital services at lightning-fast speed, helping us build back better from the pandemic.”