West Sussex businesses “transformed” by fibre broadband boost
From Chichester in the west to Manor Royal Business Park in the east businesses are realising the benefits of superfast broadband, thanks to Better Connected.
The ambition of West Sussex County Council and BT, to provide access to superfast broadband services for the majority of the county is now yielding results with local businesses keen to embrace the technology, and make savings.
“Put simply, superfast broadband enables us to work smarter, faster and to compete on a global scale. It has transformed what we do,” said Ben Davis, Managing Director of Chichester Design.His creative agency not only builds and designs websites but also offers a range of business services, including digital marketing and photography, to clients both local and international.
“Superfast has saved us time and sleepless nights. Our business is putting websites and information onto the internet. Previously we would have to do this in the late hours, or relying on our own home fibre broadband connections, just to make sure content was uploaded. Now we can do it in seconds at any time of the day or night,” said Mr Davis.
Around 39,000 more homes and businesses are now able to connect to better, faster broadband across West Sussex as a result of the Better Connected project. The achievement marks the half-way point of the project to ensure that more than 90% of the county can get access to superfast broadband by spring next year.
West Sussex County Councillor David Barling, cabinet member for residents’ services said: “This is our most ambitious year of engineering with new broadband services going live in every district providing access to better, faster broadband to thousands more homes and businesses. The County Council recognises the need that business has for fast and reliable broadband to compete effectively and we are keen to attract and retain our businesses by giving them the best advantage.”
“Working with West Sussex County Council to deliver superfast broadband in Manor Royal has been a top priority for us,” said Steve Sawyer, Executive Director of the Manor Royal BID Company.
“We were adamant from the very beginning of the BID that businesses in Manor Royal, the biggest business park in the County, needed much faster and more reliable broadband. The joint efforts of Manor Royal BID Company and West Sussex Better Connected project are on track to achieve our objective of 100% fibre coverage. This is a big plus for those businesses here and a fantastic selling point for any businesses looking to locate here.”
Paul Searle, Managing Director of P&H Motorcycles, one of the largest motorcycle showrooms in the south east, was able to make some significant savings thanks to superfast broadband at Manor Royal Business District. He said: “Modern businesses depend upon fast and reliable broadband. In order to continue to provide the quality service our customers have come to expect meant we had to use an expensive lease line because the broadband speeds were so poor in the area. The successful delivery of superfast broadband in Manor Royal now means I have been able to do away with the lease line saving my business over £6,000 per year while still being able to provide a first class service to our customers.”
Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director for next generation access, said: “The half-way mark for the joint partnership is great news. High-speed broadband helps businesses grow, attracting inward investment and providing a boost to the local economy. Whatever you do on-line you can do it better with fibre broadband. Today’s announcement builds on BT’s on-going commercial fibre deployment across the county, which has already given more than 300,000 homes and businesses access to the technology.”
Better Connected is a partnership between West Sussex County Council, BT and central government.
Information about the project, including case studies featuring local businesses and a postcode availability checker is online at www.westsussex-betterconnected.org.uk
For further information:
Enquiries from local media should be directed to West Sussex County Council Press Office on 033 022 24520.
Enquiries from trade publications about this news release should be made to the BT Regional Press Office on 0800 085 0660. All news releases can be accessed at the web site: http://www.btplc.com/News
Notes to editors:
About Better Connected
Better Connected is an exciting project to bring better, faster broadband to West Sussex.
We aim for the majority of residents and businesses to be able to access fibre-based broadband speeds of 24Mbps by spring 2016.
The project builds on the continuing commercial deployment of better, faster broadband in the county and means that by spring 2016:
More than 90% of properties in West Sussex will have access to NGA superfast fibre-based broadband infrastructure of a minimum of 24Mbps
All properties in the areas which are eligible for funding through the project should be able to access basic broadband speeds of a minimum of 2Mbps.
www.westsussex-betterconnected.org.uk
About BDUK
Superfast Britain is a UK Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements:
Administered on behalf of Government by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), Superfast Britain is transforming Britain by promoting growth, enabling skills and learning, and improving quality of life.
For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk
