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His latest, I am astonished that Alkham can not get broadband I assume they must still be on dial-up....
"Time for better broadband
Decent broadband has become an essential tool of modern life. Whether it’s keeping in touch with friends, entertainment in the evenings, doing homework, or building a business – we rely on it to get by.
That’s why I have long been campaigning for better broadband in Dover and Deal – particularly in the villages where speeds can be painfully slow. In Lydden and Temple Ewell people endured internet speeds of less than two megabytes per second – ten times slower than parts of Dover itself. They were endlessly given excuses.
Yet I kept pressing Openreach to make the necessary investment. Eventually they installed a street cabinet with new fibres in Canterbury Road. Yet Openreach’s approach – as it so often is – was more dial-up than super-fast.
We have started to see improvements across our community. Official figures last year showed 92.6% of our homes can access superfast broadband, compared to the 91.4% national average. Just 2.1% are unable to receive at least 10 megabytes per second, compared to 3% nationally. Or so they say.
Because there are still too many people who can’t access decent broadband. Take the year 11 student from Hougham who contacted me. Her internet can drop below 0.6mbps, meaning she struggles to complete her homework, particularly in maths, science and languages. She is dyslexic, so she needs to download extra aids like large font versions of her work.
The stories are similar elsewhere. Residents in Alkham tell me they can’t access broadband at all – and have been quoted £180,000 to get it installed. Someone in Tilmanstone told me the figure they had been quoted for full fibre broadband was £283,000.
It cannot be right that people in these areas are so cut off from the modern world. Indeed, as a nation we are falling behind. In Spain 85% of households have full fibre-optic broadband. In Portugal it’s over 90%. In the UK the figure is a pitiful 7%.
This is another reason I am backing Boris Johnson’s campaign to be our next Prime Minister. This week he pledged to deliver full-fibre broadband to every home in the land. To reboot “left-behind” Britain with a turbo-charged broadband revolution, targeting the three million homes and businesses in rural areas that are the most difficult to cover.
As Boris says, it will cost money – yet the productivity gains are immense. Every pound invested in full fibre broadband will lead to economic gains worth many times the outlay. Everything from NHS scans to business transactions will become far quicker.
And villages across Dover and Deal will be fully connected to the modern world. For too long we’ve put up with appallingly low speeds. For too long our towns and regions have been left behind in favour of the big cities.
It’s time to end the digital divide. It’s time to unite our country and make the United Kingdom a real powerhouse of investment and innovation. "