PEOPLE across Worcestershire are being urged to shout up now if they want faster broadband in the future.

The county council, which has already pledged £8.5 million towards quicker speeds, is launching a major survey to get people’s views.

Businesses and residents are being asked to get involved in the survey, which bosses say could impact on which areas get faster connections first.

The authority wants to firm up “priority areas” by getting opinions from those who are most in need. Councillor Simon Geraghty, deputy leader and cabinet member for the economy, said: “I would encourage businesses and residents to take part in the short survey and enable us to show where there is particular demand for faster broadband locally.

“We also need to ensure when it comes to attracting new businesses to the county that our digital infrastructure does not become a reason to look elsewhere. Increasing our broadband speed is absolutely crucial.”

Councillor David Thain, the cabinet member with responsibility for transformation and change, said: “Just looking at technology developments in a little over ten years, many of us will remember slow dial-up connections. We do not want Worcestershire to be left behind.”

As well as the £8.5 million the cabinet agreed to invest into speed improvements last November, the Government has forwarded £3.3 million.

The cash is set to benefit about 2,100 homes, 70 farms and at least 50 businesses, bringing them superfast broadband, which is classed as 30mbps (megabits per second).

And on top of that, the council is currently putting together a bid to an entirely separate pot of funding from the Government’s Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF) to seek money specifically for Ombersley and Abberley.

Parish councils, libraries and council contact centres across Worcestershire have been handed questionnaires for anyone who wants to complete it in paper form.

It can also be done online at worcestershire.gov.uk/broadband.

The survey runs until Sunday, September 2 and will help shape where the cash is spent.

As your Worcester News reported last month, the authority is also pushing the Government to finally unleash plans to spend £530 million nationwide on faster web speeds. A Government body called BDUK (Broadband Delivery UK) is still awaiting approval from the EU before the cash, which has already been dished out nationwide, can be spent.