A campaign is under way to bring super-fast broadband to residents in Bramley and Sherfield.
Spearheading the move, Cllr Ranil Jayawardena submitted a petition to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council with more than 100 signatures.
Residents helped collect names from friends and neighbours, with 13 pages being presented to the council’s cabinet.
The councillors are demanding broadband providers install an upgraded service for Bramley and Sherfield.
Cllr Jayawardena said: “People need better broadband, both for work and play.
“In my opinion, Bramley and Sherfield is a natural first step to extending super-fast broadband outside of Basingstoke.”
“If we’re doing the town, then let’s do the villages also.”
Cllr Jayawardena told the Observer that internet speed is a top issue for people in his constituency, with existing services slowing as user numbers increase.
Bramley resident Richard Thayer runs a consulting and coaching business from home and uses the internet for working with clients and reducing costs.
He said: “I started up my own business in February, and having fast on-line access is an absolute necessity.”
An upgrade would involve exchanging copper wires leading from the main exchange with fibre optic replacements.
Fibre transmits data faster and over longer distances than copper, and the cables would extend as far as hubs located in Bramley and Sherfield’s streets
On completion of this work, residents would hope to access broadband speeds of up to 40 megabytes per second.
This “fibre-to-cabinet” system is a first step towards installing upgraded cables directly into every house and potentially providing speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second.
These figures compare with a national average of around four megabytes per second, a number still ten times faster that that which Cllr Jayawardena said he receives at home.
The councillor accepted disruption would be caused as a result of any upgrade, but said: “The benefit we would get from this would hugely outweigh any disruption it may cause in the short term.”
Cllr Jayawardena’s campaign follows on from a county-wide initiative which invited residents across Hampshire to register their support for further government funding.
“I’ve strongly encouraged all residents to do that,” he said.
“The more people that shout about this the better.”
The Government has provided BT with sufficient funds to ensure 40 per cent of all households across the UK have access to super-fast broadband by 2012.
Cllr Jayawardena hopes to tap into this cash.
However, when BT announced the next 156 locations to receive upgrades earlier this month only Whitchurch was listed.
