Connecting Cheshire aims to bring Superfast Broadband and improved broadband speeds to communities and businesses across Cheshire, Halton and Warrington.
Join our Campaign for Better Broadband now - 7,680 Demand Registrations, including from over 1,000 businesses, received so far…
Connecting Cheshire is a joint project between Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Warrington Borough Council and Halton Borough Council, with BT as our telecom partner.
Although in larger towns and cities across the country Superfast Broadband is being installed at a fast rate, this is leaving many parts of Cheshire, Warrington and Halton, particularly the rural areas, in danger of being left behind with slower internet speeds. It is a large challenge to bring faster internet speeds to smaller towns and rural areas, and this is why the four councils are working together with the community, internet providers and suppliers to facilitate the investment in Superfast Broadband technology.
When it comes to broadband, speed is everything, this has never been more important at home or for businesses, and unless we act now there is a real risk of a ‘digital divide’ getting ever wider between our towns and our more remote and rural communities.
In April 2013, Connecting Cheshire Partnership agreed a £28.5m contract with BT to deliver Fibre Broadband to over 80,000 premises in rural areas of Cheshire. The project will ensure 96% of homes and businesses have access to high-speed broadband by 2016, when combined with the commercial roll-out.
Signing the contract with BT marks a critical milestone for the project and is the result of over 2 year’s hard work, with the 4 council partners working collaboratively to secure world-class broadband coverage for Cheshire. As a result, more than 400,000 premises (around 96 per cent) across Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, should have access to broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps by the end of 2016.
Those premises in the remaining four per cent that currently experience low speeds will also see an uplift, as the project aims to deliver a minimum of 2Mbps or more to almost all homes and businesses. See our media release for more details.
By registering your demand you can help ensure your community or business will be prioritised for investment in faster and reliable broadband.
Please Register your Demand by completing our short form now!
See how many registrations we have received from your area.
A recently produced ‘value and impact study’ predicts that over 15 years, superfast broadband covering Cheshire, Warrington and Halton could generate:
- £1.3 billion in business benefits
- Over 11,000 new jobs
- £380 million in household benefits
- 3,000 new jobs in rural and semi-rural areas
Cheshire, Warrington and Halton need access to high speed broadband so it can continue to be a good and competitive place to live in and do business in.
Read the Value and Impact study in full
Read the Connecting Cheshire Prospectus
See our Frequently Asked Questions
Watch our videos on our You Tube channel
If you are struggling with a slow speed, read our Practical Guide on how to improve your speed, which could help in the short-term.
