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In 2013 central government asked the public sector to attract suppliers to areas of 'market failure'. An area of market failure is somewhere that currently has no superfast coverage available and there are no plans to set up superfast broadband to the area within the next three years. As a result, central government made funding available for us to work with suppliers to attract them to these areas in Buckinghamshire.
We formed a partnership with Hertfordshire County Council called Connected Counties. A contract was signed with Openreach to improve service levels across the two areas.
Before work began in 2013 only 68% of premises in the county could access superfast speeds. With the help of suppliers, we set a target of providing 95% of premises with superfast speeds. We achieved this target in August 2018.
Most future rollout will be managed by Central Government under their £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. For more information please view the March 2021 policy paper on GOV.UK.
Coverage map
The coverage map shares the latest information available to the Council on current and future provision of broadband across Buckinghamshire. This information comes from various sources and provides an approximate picture of coverage in the county. The map can be used to provide an estimate of existing speeds available to premises and whether the Council know of any planned upgrades.
Speed information for this map has been taken from a variety of publicly available data, for example the Ofcom Connected Nation Report, and through the Buckinghamshire Council public rollout of broadband. Additionally, plans for the postcode have been gathered through an Open Market Review which was undertaken in 2018, as well as the Buckinghamshire Council public sector rollout of broadband.
This map attempts to show a generalised view of broadband speeds in the area and where possible it shows information by premise. However, this information is not widely available, so the majority of information is shown by postcode.
Please note that premises that are due to be connected by the Buckinghamshire Rural Business Broadband Project are subject to change. This map will be updated regularly to reflect any changes
This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office© Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. © Copyright Buckinghamshire Council. Licence No. 0100062456 2020.
Please contact us at broadbandinfo@buckinghamshire.gov.uk if you have any questions or queries.
Ongoing work
We are currently involved in many workstreams to improve superfast connectivity. We have briefly summarised these projects below.
Project Gigabit
The government is on a mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to everyone in the UK and is investing £5 billion in Project Gigabit to ensure that hard to reach communities are not left out.
Building Digital UK (BDUK) is carrying out an Open Market Review (OMR) in 5 areas including Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and East of Berkshire (Lot 26) to help identify premises that may be suitable for future public funding for gigabit-capable broadband.
BDUK is seeking information and supporting evidence from suppliers in relation to the presence of gigabit capable broadband infrastructure within the project areas. If you have existing network coverage or plan to build infrastructure within the next three years, we actively encourage you to respond to this OMR.
This consultation opens on 12 August 2021 and closes on 13 September 2021.
To respond to this Open Market Review, and for more information, please see the GOV.UK website.
Connected Counties partnership
Buckinghamshire Rural Business Broadband Project
Broadband voucher schemes
Frequently asked questions
In 2013, the UK government definition of superfast broadband speed was speeds greater than or equal to 24 megabits per second (mbps). However, recently more groups emphasise that superfast should be classed as greater than or equal to 30mbps. The statistics we’ve presented regarding the progress we have made reflects the original 24mbps definitions. Going forward, the Buckinghamshire Rural Business Broadband Project will reflect the 30mbps definition, to reflect the new attitudes to superfast broadband.
One of the most popular online activities is streaming television and films over the internet. As a brief overview, the recommended speeds to be able to do this are as follows:
BBC iPlayer
Standard definition - 1.5mbps
High definition - 2.8mbps
Ultra-high definition - N/A
Netflix
Standard definition - 3mbps
High definition - 5mbps
Ultra-high definition - 25mbps
Amazon Prime Video
Standard definition - 0.9mbps
High definition - 3.5mbps
Ultra-high definition - 25mbps
YouTube
Standard definition - 2.5mbps
High definition - 4mbps
Ultra-high definition - 15mbps
You can use the Which.co.uk broadband guide for more advice on understanding what speeds you might need.
Residents should also bear in mind that the more users, the slower their speeds are likely to be.
You can either contact your current internet service provider and ask them, or carry out an online test yourself using the BT wholesale speed checker. There are also lots of websites which have a broadband speed checker service. Some suggestions are:
You should speak to your current internet service provider to ask if they can do anything to improve the speed.
Ofcom have introduced a new campaign called ‘Boost Your Broadband’. The campaign provides consumers with the information they need to find out if they are getting the best package for their needs. It aims to encourage consumers to see if they can get more from their broadband by checking what services are available in their area. The campaign can help constituents find out if they could:
- upgrade to a faster service with their current provider
- get a better deal for their current package
- switch to a new deal with a different provider
- stick with their current deal
Please visit Ofcom's website dedicated to broadband information for more details.