Norfolk residents urged to support super-fast broadband campaign
Residents and businesses in Norfolk are being urged to register their interest in receiving super-fast internet connectivity as part of the county council's plan to roll out universal broadband throughout the area.
The announcement came as the local authority launched its Say Yes to Better Broadband campaign on Wednesday (January 11th 2012) in a bid to help thousands of people across Norfolk who are currently hampered by little or no broadband access.
People can express their desire to receive faster broadband by signing up on the campaign's website, with no obligation to subscribe to the service once it becomes available.
More than 50,000 commercial and residential premises in Norfolk are currently believed to be in broadband notspots and estimates suggest as much as 60 per cent of the county would still be unable to access super-fast broadband in three years' time without intervention from the local authority.
At present, next-generation broadband is available to 28 per cent of the area, according to the latest Ofcom figures, while 17.6 per cent of properties receive speeds of less than 2Mbps.
The council's Better Broadband for Norfolk project aims to deliver download rates of at least 30Mbps to as much of the county as possible, with minimum speeds of 2Mbps available to all remaining properties.
Whether or not the council will be able to resolve the connectivity issues hampering much of the county will depend on the levels of interest generated by the initiative.
Ann Steward, cabinet member for economic development at Norfolk County Council, said: "The importance of painting an accurate picture of the demand that exists in Norfolk cannot be understated.
"We know that much of the county cannot receive reasonable broadband speeds and some areas can't get broadband at all. We know that many individuals, families, businesses and communities are held back and frustrated by poor broadband access."
