Better Broadband Oxfordshire

In one example, fibre broadband has proved a major boost for one Oxfordshire countryside farm’s operations since it was installed in January 2016. Owner Anne Gow battled for years with slow internet signal, but thanks to the efforts of Better Broadband Oxfordshire, now has this to say: “The difference between the old and new broadband service is huge. We used to get download speeds of around 2Mbps and now we see speeds of above 20Mbps.

We’ve had an unexpected benefit from our firewood sales through the website, which continues to expand and showed an 88% increase last year, with a further 50% increase during our quiet season. In fact, our online sales for firewood in October 2016 were almost more than for the whole of 2014! I would not have been able to do this work on the old broadband connection as the speed was simply too slow to allow me do these sorts of improvements. We are also working hard to review equipment, staffing levels and servicing demand if this sort of trend continues!”

To read more case studies on how Oxfordshire County Council’s work on digital infrastructure is helping local businesses visit: www.betterbroadbandoxfordshire.org.uk