Sir – Villagers in Dorchester-on-Thames have conducted a door-to-door survey to gauge just how poor their broadband service is.

Over 270, or more than 65 per cent, of all 400 households and businesses in the village responded emphatically that they are not satisfied with the speeds they are experiencing at the present time.

Only a handful state that they enjoy speeds above four Mbps but most get less than two, whereas people living in the city who pay the same amount for their service enjoy speeds up to 20 times faster.

This is already slowing the rural economy, as businesses critically rely on good communication to reach their customers and suppliers and they are becoming increasingly reluctant to move into areas that do not have them and some businesses already there are planning to move away because of the bad service. It will also soon affect the housing market, as the desirability of moving into otherwise lovely areas, but with poor broadban will ultimately impact on house prices.

Asked whether they would be prepared to pay extra for a faster service, most responded with a resounding yes and by around an additional £25,000 per year from the whole of Dorchester-based residents and businesses.

Like many other villages in the county, Dorchester is hoping to be awarded some of the £13.86m that the Oxfordshire County Council will soon be offering to provide superfast broadband speeds of 30-40 Mbps to the majority of villages. We aim to be the top village and we just cannot wait.

Chris Hill, Dorchester parish councillor and broadband champion