Village complaints after being left in slow lane of digital superhighway

SNAIL-PACED internet connections have left a dale village in a digital hole.
Absent broadband in Ovington has been a bugbear of villagers for years and slow progress in finding solutions has triggered frustration.
Parish councillor Maureen Begg has been chasing BT and Durham County Council’s Digital Durham scheme to try to get answers.
She said: “It’s very frustrating – we have not moved forward since we have been in touch and we’ve been in limbo.
“I know from complaints that residents are skeptical.”
Many villagers have been hampered by download speeds well below the national average of 28.9 megabits per second.
John Stroud, landlord of Ovington’s Four Alls Inn, revealed the slow connection had cost him customers.
“It’s extremely poor,” said Mr Stroud.
“The speed checkers I use show a speed of 400kbps and it used to be one megabit per second.
“For the Four Alls website, it was quicker posting our memory stick down to my brother in Hastings to get pictures uploaded.
“I’ve had a couple of people walk out because of it.”
In correspondence from BT’s Simon Robertson, parish councillors were told how the nearby Whorlton exchange was being upgraded to “phase two” of the Digital Durham scheme.
But the earliest Ovington could have its internet assessed for an upgrade would be 2018.
Cllr Nigel Parkes asked if Mr Robertson would be willing to come back to Ovington to explain the situation.
“It’s worth getting Simon back down here and putting more pressure on him,” said Cllr Parkes.
“It is letting him know how frustrating it is not to have broadband in the village.
“Durham County Council have no clout – we need to ask more of BT.”
Councillors also heard how Teesdale’s MP, Helen Goodman, had “expressed concern” about the lack of broadband. 
Members agreed to invite BT to come along to their January meeting.