I read with deja vu the article in the Chronicle (February 29) about Hampshire County Council calling on the government to ensure all residents are connected to high-speed Internet services.

It reminded me of the ambitions in 2010 of the government’s new national broadband strategy, having an aspiration of delivering “the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015”, which it still isn’t. 

And in 2014, the leader of Hampshire County Council, saying: “It is because of the council’s willingness to invest in the next phase of the superfast broadband programme that at least 95 per cent of properties will be able to access superfast broadband services once the project is complete in 2017” (the quote is still on the web).

Today, mobile coverage is as important as broadband, and many parts of our county have no or impoverished services, whether broadband or mobile. I still spend too much time when I'm travelling for work struggling to find an adequate signal. 

In 2024, with growing cuts to public services and infrastructure, is this just one more example of ambition unmatched by any accountability for delivery, even if it offers enormous social, environment and economic value to Hampshire?

Jos Creese,
Rareridge Lane,
Bishop's Waltham

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