1 August 2014
West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed the latest broadband cabinet switch-on which will see almost all of Malvern connected to the superfast broadband fibre network. The long-awaited cabinet in Malvern Vale will be formally connected at a ceremony attended by Harriett and officials from Worcestershire County Council today (Friday August 1). The upgrade is part of a programme benefitting from £13 million of taxpayers money to enhance the county's broadband connectivity. Harriett raised the problems of connecting the new Malvern Vale community with BT director Bill Murphy during a face-to-face meeting in 2012. And the Superfast Worcestershire joint project managed by BT and the county council, confirmed the latest cabinet upgrade earlier this month. Harriett commented: "Malvern Vale was one of the more challenging cabinets in the town and I raised the concerns of residents with BT's management on a number of occasions. "I am pleased that the Superfast Worcestershire project team has been able to bring about this success story and I welcome their efforts to get faster connections to the hundreds of homes served by this cabinet. "The good news is that Malvern is very nearly completely upgraded and I hope those people who are not yet connected in the town will get in touch with the county council. "Meanwhile, I will be turning my attention to the many rural areas which are still having to cope with poor broadband service and I look forward to seeing many more cabinet upgrades in my constituency over the coming months." Photo: Simon Geraghty and Harriett Baldwin MP have a 99 ice cream to celebrate over 99 per cent coverage for Malvern with the switch on of the Malvern Vale cabinet.