Please scroll down the page or click on the questions below to find the answers:

1. What is superfast broadband?
2. Why is the public sector involved in providing superfast broadband – isn’t this a matter for the telecoms industry to sort out?
3. What areas of Surrey are likely to miss out under the current broadband roll-out plans without the intervention of the Surrey Strategic Partnership?
4. What are the benefits of superfast broadband?
5. I don't have access to superfast broadband where I live. What should I do?
6. We already have broadband, but how do I find out if it is superfast or not?
7. How much is it going to cost to get superfast broadband across all of Surrey and who pays for it?
8. How can I support Surrey's superfast broadband project?
9. Any further questions?

1. What is superfast broadband?

The EU universal broadband program has a target to ensure that all households within the EU have access to 30 Mbps Internet speeds by 2020 and that 50% of those have access to speeds of 100Mbps or higher by the same date. Surrey Strategic Partnership wants to leapfrog the currently available broadband speeds and for speeds in Surrey to be amongst the fastest in Europe. We are seeking to achieve superfast broadband for Surrey’s residents and businesses considerably earlier. Given this ambition, we need to discuss with industry what precisely can be achieved on a universal basis, whilst keeping costs to an affordable level for the customer. What this means for the customer is access to hugely improved services with vastly improved times for downloading and uploading large documents such as films and music at competitive prices. It enables the use of a wide range of new and innovative applications – e.g. super high definition and 3D TV/video, telecare , health care , accessing software as a service (known as SAAS), cloud computing and more effective teleworking and video conferencing. These new applications have many potential benefits as set out in paragraph 9.

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2. Why is the public sector involved in providing superfast broadband – isn’t this a matter for the telecoms industry to sort out?

Yes, in the normal course of events we would expect superfast broadband infrastructure to be provided by the telecoms market. However, we are aware that there is likely to be an ongoing gap in the provision of a superfast broadband network in Surrey. The latest published plans still show about one in five Surrey homes and businesses will not have such access which would disadvantage about 200,000 Surrey people. There is an important issue of fairness involved. Surrey’s public bodies and the county's business and voluntary sectors - working together as the Surrey Strategic Partnership and lead by Surrey County Council - think that it is unacceptable for a section of Surrey society to be excluded in this way.

3. What areas of Surrey are likely to miss out under the current broadband roll-out plans without the intervention of the Surrey Strategic Partnership?

These are mainly the more rural areas of the county particularly towards the south. The rural parts of the boroughs of Waverley, Mole Valley, Reigate & Banstead, Guildford and Tandridge are most affected but there are many other parts of the county and also some smaller pockets in more urban areas that are likely to miss out.

4. What are the benefits of superfast broadband?

There are three main ways in which it can benefit: business, social and public service. Business – superfast broadband allows services to be delivered more efficiently over the internet, boosting e-commerce and home-working, enabling Surrey firms to be more productive, competitive and reducing the need for travel, which also helps the environment. Social – it offers ways of overcoming social isolation as people can keep in contact with friends and family via email, social networking sites, shop on the internet, search for jobs and complete training and learning activities online. Public service – as technology allows more public services to be available online, people can get access to tele-medicine and tele-care services, as well as education, libraries, leisure and cultural opportunities. Find out more about what it means for you if you are a resident or run a business in Surrey:

• Superfast broadband information for residents of Surrey
• Superfast broadband information for businesses in Surrey

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5. I don't have access to superfast broadband where I live in Surrey. What should I do?

You can do a number of things:

• 1. Check that this is the case with your available Broadband providers. You can check service providers in your exchange area using the broadband checker available on SamKnows.com
• 2. Check if your exchange is due to be upgraded as part of Openreach's current rollout plans. See www.openreach-communications.co.uk/superfast/where-and-when/
• 3. Please register your interest by filling in our form for residents or our form for businesses. Included on the form is a request for you to let us know your post code and the current broadband speeds available to you.

6. We already have broadband, but how do I find out if it is superfast or not?

You can check your speed by using an online speed checker (for example Test your broadband speed at www.speedtest.net). To be 'superfast' – would generally mean download speeds of at least 20 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 5 Mbps but this is likely to change over time. But speed (or bandwidth) is only an indicator of the quality of service you receive. We are currently in the process of discussing and agreeing what our ambition should be in Surrey in terms of a minimum definition for superfast broadband.

7. How much is it going to cost to get superfast broadband across all of Surrey and who pays for it?

The total cost of providing the infrastructure will run into many millions of pounds. But the infrastructure providers will largely pay for this since income will be generated to pay for the investment. The problem is where anticipated income is not likely to cover the required investment. Here some public subsidy is likely from local or central government but the total cost to the public purse can be kept low or even avoided altogether if demand from customers is higher than expected If you have more questions please email us: superfastbbsurrey@surreycc.gov.uk

8. How can I support Surrey's superfast broadband project?

We need you to tell us what your current broadband access is like and whether you would want faster internet speeds. We will use this information to feed into our conversations with industry and support Surrey's bid for superfast broadband. Please complete the survey either for residents or businesses.

9. Any further questions?

Please contact the superfast broadband project team.