Essex's superfast programme praised

Essex has been praised by Government for being one of the top four counties for delivering superfast broadband in the UK at a conference hosted by the county’s broadband programme to highlight the importance of connectivity and showcase why Essex is a great place to do business.

The compliment was made by Chris Townsend, Chief Executive of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) – the team within Government overseeing the national rollout of superfast broadband – during his keynote speech at the SuperConnected Business Conference on Tuesday 7 June.

Over 150 delegates, from Essex and beyond, assembled at Chelmsford City Racecourse for the free full-day event, including Essex businesses, UK telecoms companies, business leaders and digital experts. The conference was hosted by Essex County Council’s Superfast Essex broadband programme in collaboration with Next Gen Events Ltd as an initiative to spread the word about the benefits a fibre broadband connection can bring to business success.

Representatives from broadband, wireless and satellite providers, including BT, Gigaclear, County Broadband, FibreWiFi and Avonline, attended the event to explain the different technologies and services on offer and give the audience the opportunity for a Q&A session.

Cloud-based systems were a hot topic for the day, with Paul Pritchard from Abacus Accountancy, Richard Pond from Business Connected and Jason O’Shea from FOS.net discussing the ways various applications can be used to transition business into the cloud. This innovation, aided by a good connection, frees up time and helps to simplify processes, allowing businesses to transform the way they operate and do business faster.

Cllr Kevin Bentley, Deputy Leader Essex County Council and Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Partnerships, opened up the conference with a welcoming speech: “In Essex we’re proud to support our businesses and it’s events like these which help us do just that. It’s important that we enable discussions to inform and support businesses to make good choices, and understanding connectivity options and the benefits of faster broadband are essential for business growth in the digital world.

“Superfast Essex has improved access to high-speed broadband to many businesses already and we haven’t finished yet. It’s great to receive the recognition from BDUK.”

Speaking at the event, BDUK CEO Chris Townsend said: "Superfast Essex is one of the top four performing counties in the Government's Broadband Delivery UK programme and I congratulate them on the progress of their superfast broadband rollout to date. I'm also impressed with the excellent work they are doing to keep the business community informed about the work going on."

Superfast Essex is part of a national programme, working to provide superfast broadband speeds of 24Mbps and as many homes and businesses as possible. The programme is currently on track to ensure 95% superfast broadband coverage by 2019.

Find out the latest broadband rollout information for your area at www.superfastessex.org/maps. Anyone not covered by the Superfast Essex programme can register their demand for superfast broadband by completing the Make the Connection Survey at www.superfastessex.org/getinvolved.

For more information and resources on broadband for businesses visit: www.superfastessex.org/forbusiness.

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