Call to arms over broadband

There were fresh calls for an improved broadband service to finally be delivered to the region, as a stark picture of a twin-speed East Anglia was laid bare.

PAUL HILL, BUSINESS EDITOR
15 November 2009 21:11



There were fresh calls last night for an improved broadband service to be delivered to the region, as a stark picture of a twin-speed East Anglia was laid bare.

There are thousands of homes and businesses in the countryside left in the internet slow lane, struggling to cope with a snail-like and unreliable service.

Meanwhile, urban areas, such as cities and major towns speed ahead, able to make the most of the many economic opportunities the internet presents.

However, the challenge facing the rural community to persuade ministers and the telecoms industry to invest in super-fast broadband in the countryside will be laid bare at a major conference in Norfolk this week.

Senior BT executive Peter McCarthy Ward will tell the annual Shaping Norfolk's Future conference in Norwich on Friday that superfast broadband - connection speeds of up to 24 megabits per second (Mbps)- will be delivered first where demand is greatest: inevitably cities and larger towns.

Mr McCarthy Ward will challenge businesses and local authorities to lobby for government cash to bring faster broadband to the countryside and areas where the telecoms industry sees too little demand to justify investment.

Norfolk's civic leaders last night hit back at these calls, claiming the region has already shown a strong need for better broadband and urging BT to do more.

They fear slow broadband will hold back East Anglia's economic growth - leaving rural businesses struggling to compete and undermining efforts to attract new companies and jobs to the region.

There are concerns too that consumers in the countryside will struggle to access the full range of online services enjoyed by their urban counterparts.

Mr McCarthy Ward will reveal that BT is carrying out a trial of new technology in Wymondham that could deliver up to 2Mbps broadband to homes and businesses that are furthest from telephone exchanges and where connection speeds to the internet are slowest.

Ü To register for the conference at the Open venue in Norwich on Friday, visit www.shapingnorfolksfuture.org.uk

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