A while ago we wrote about the latest update in the Better Broadband for Suffolk campaign. Well, now there’s more news.
A recent email from the campaign has announced that:
Suffolk County Council has today announced that it will work with BT to implement the county’s Better Broadband for Suffolk programme.
Every household and business premises in Suffolk will now be guaranteed broadband speeds of at least 2 megabits per second (Mbps) by 2015 with 85% being able to access superfast coverage.
It means that within just three years, 9 out of 10 Suffolk properties will be connected to fibre-based broadband and will be able to get speed increases of at least 10Mbps.
Obviously, this announcement has been welcomed with open arms. As Mark Bee, Leader of Suffolk County Council said “Improving access to broadband is going to help Suffolk’s economy grow by as much as 20% and create up to 5000 new jobs. There’s a digital divide between Suffolk and the rest of the country but an even more acute disparity between urban and rural Suffolk. The Better Broadband programme is going to close those gaps, boost school attainment and help the public sector to deliver services more efficiently and cheaply.”
So what’s next?
Well, a contract between Suffolk County Council and BT is expected to be finalised and finally awarded by the end of October 2012.
This is fantastic news for Suffolk and we’ll keep you posted on further developments as and when we hear about them.