Action call over Hartlepool broadband access

Only a fraction of houses in Hartlepool are capable of accessing the fastest full-fibre broadband, new figures reveal.
By Patrick Jack
Published 14th Jan 2021, 15:39 BST
Acton call over broadband accessActon call over broadband access
Acton call over broadband access

Figures from the House of Commons library showed just 3.1% of households in Hartlepool could receive speeds of one gigabit per second in September.

This coverage also differs greatly throughout the parliamentary constituency – from 22.5% of homes in Clavering, to none in three other areas.

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A group of MPs has warned the Government's pledge of gigabit broadband for 85% of the country by 2025 will not be met.

According to the figures, just 27% of UK homes can access the technology, but more recent data from Think Broadband had this at 37% by January.

Figures showed the average download speed across Hartlepool was 100.1 Megabits per second – though this varied between 112.2 Mbps in Seaton Carew, and 85.2 Mbps in Harbour and Victoria.

The Public Accounts Committee criticised the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for not admitting at an earlier stage that it would not meet the Conservative election pledge of gigabit broadband connectivity across the entire country by 2025.

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In November the Government revealed it was rowing back on the previous target and was aiming for at least 85% instead.

Meg Hillier, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said the Government cannot allow digital inequality to exacerbate the economic inequality across the country which has been exposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

She said: “Due to a litany of planning and implementation failures at DCMS, those promises are slipping farther and farther out of reach.

"With the country and economy being locked down, the Government’s promises on digital connectivity are more important than ever.”

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The DCMS said it did not agree with the MPs' report, claiming it contained some inaccuracies.

A spokesman said: "Gigabit capable broadband is being rolled out rapidly – from one in ten households in 2019 to one in three households today.

"We expect that half of all households will have access to gigabit speeds by the end of this year, and the UK is deploying at a faster build rate than comparable countries."

Related topics:HartlepoolGovernmentMPs