PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Broadband: South Suffolk (9 June 2015)

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many additional premises in South Suffolk constituency were connected to high speed broadband services in each of the last three years.

Asked by:
James Cartlidge (Conservative)

In South Suffolk constituency commercial broadband delivery is estimated to cover 19,252 (45%) of homes and businesses. By the end of the Better Broadband for Suffolk project, coverage is expected to have increased to over 36,800 (86%) of premises.

In the Better Broadband for Suffolk project over 117,000 homes and businesses across the county will benefit from public investment. As of March 2015, the project had already reached over 70,600 premises.

The Department deposited data in the House of Commons Library which estimates commercial coverage and coverage supported by public investment in constituencies by the end of 2017. The table can be found here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/?house=1&search_term=Department+for+Culture%2c+Media+and+Sport&itemId=122028#toggle-163

The Department does not monitor roll-out at constituency level. However, Ofcom publishes annual data on coverage at county level. The following data taken from Ofcom Infrastructure Reports indicates coverage in Suffolk between 2012 and 2014. Ofcom calculated 2012-14 coverage figures using different methodologies and in 2014 produced two sets of figures. Further details can be found on the Ofcom website: http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/

County	Proportion of households in postcodes served by NGA networks 2012	Proportion of premises in postcodes served by NGA networks 2013	Proportion of premises able to receive NGA broadband services 2014	Availability of superfast broadband (30+Mbit/s) 2014
Suffolk	45%	59%	68%	64%

Answered by:
Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative)
23 June 2015