Broadband boost at Devon business centre as MP praises rural rollout

18th February, 2019 | Press release

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Okehampton’s award-winning business centre struggled with poor wifi speeds for its 16 business units until Airband stepped in to provide high speed broadband

Businesses at the centre were struggling to achieve decent broadband speeds and one of the centre’s businesses, Clinical Architecture, says that poor broadband was undermining the growth of its business.

Director of Clinical Architecture, Andrew Frangleton, said: “We had 0.5 Mbps upload and 12 Mbps download which was very difficult for us to work with.”

In February last year the firm contacted independent internet service provider Airband, who organised a high–speed wireless connection delivering speeds of 50 Mbps upload and download.

“We provide software solutions to optimise healthcare data, so working in this field it’s really important that we have a robust broadband connection,” explained Andrew. “We’re very happy with our Airband solution.”

Okehampton’s Member of Parliament Mel Stride visited Okehampton Business Centre on February 15, where he discussed the key role Airband is playing in providing more homes and businesses with faster internet across his Central Devon constituency.

Speaking after the meeting Mr Stride said: “There is no doubt that in our digital age inadequate internet speeds hold businesses back and impact on economic growth and job creation. Airband has improved speeds in some of
the most isolated parts of our rural constituency, especially across Dartmoor.

“I was pleased to hear about Airband’s new postcode checker which went live today, (February 15), which will help more homes and businesses see whether they can access faster speeds.

Commenting on the transforming effect of the broadband roll-out for Devon businesses, Connecting Devon and Somerset board member, Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, said: “I am delighted to see such real-world examples of businesses benefitting from the roll-out of superfast broadband into some of the hardest to reach parts of rural Devon. It’s particularly encouraging to hear how improved connectivity can make such a difference to how businesses can compete in the region.”

Airband’s network for Connecting Devon and Somerset will provide access to superfast broadband for around 24,000 homes and businesses across Mid Devon, North Devon, Torridge, West Devon and West Somerset including Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks. The whole network is expected to be completed by December 2019.

For more information about CDS, visit www.connectingdevonandsomerset.co.uk and for details of coverage visit www.airband.co.uk or call 01905 950471.