Broadband will boost jobs
A BT engineer installing fibre optic cabling
Further improvements are to be made to Belper’s internet speeds, after BT announced they were rolling out fibre optic technology in the town
As reported in the Belper News at the beginning of February, by 2015 Digital Derbyshire, run by the county council aims to bring superfast broadband of up to 30mbs to 90 per cent of Derbyshire and make a minimum speeds of 2Mbps available to the remaining 10 per cent.
Now, in a further boost BT have said the town, as well as Ambergate and Allestree Park will benefit as part of a £2.5 billion commercial expansion of fibre broadband in the UK.
The improvements are expected to boost the amount of jobs and new companies starting-up in the town.
George Cowcher, Chief Executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Businesses will welcome this latest phase in BT’s rollout of super-fast broadband across Derbyshire, which will ensure that thousands more commercial and residential properties will have access to the very latest high-speed broadband technology.
“Having no access to high speed broadband puts firms at a distinct disadvantage to those already have access to those who do, and this development will be a major draw for businesses and organisations looking to relocate to Derbyshire, who may choose the county over other locations if it has an affordable and reliable broadband solution.”
It will take the total number of premises with access to fibre broadband in Derbyshire to 355,000. More than 266,000 are already able to get the service in the county - and BT is keen to bring more communities within reach by working with the public sector.
Owen Moody, BT’s East Midlands regional director, said: “This latest investment is a further vote of confidence in the future success of Derbyshire. It will be an important part of our economic revival as we finally shrug off the effects of the downturn and create a better, more prosperous future.
“Fast, sophisticated communications are the cornerstone of a successful community, helping local people to build their skills and knowledge and encouraging the creation of new businesses and jobs. This exciting technology will transform on-line education, training and leisure for households and enhance the competitiveness of local firms.”
With a fibre broadband connection a family can download a movie, watch a TV replay service, surf the net and play games online simultaneously. A whole album can be downloaded in less than 30 seconds and a feature length HD movie in less than 10 minutes, while high-resolution photos can be uploaded to Facebook in seconds.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Belper
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
