Businesses are being asked for their views to shape the future provision of Nottinghamshire digital broadband services – currently being upgraded by an ongoing £20million programme, backed by D2N2 – by taking part in a short online survey.
Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire (BBfN) is a £20m programme led by D2N2 partner authority Nottinghamshire County Council, which is extending the commercial roll-out of superfast, fibre-based broadband services in Nottinghamshire.
BBfN has received additional funding – including £2.6m from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for its ‘Contract Two’ stage – with the expectation that 97% of the county’s homes and businesses will have the broadband access by completion in 2018. In June (2015) the 250th county superfast broadband ‘cabinet’ went online in Blyth (pictured below).
Improvement of infrastructure (including digital broadband) is part of D2N2’s strategy to help the economy grow in its area of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
Other funding partners in BBfN include the County Council, BT, the Government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Partway through the BBfN scheme, Nottinghamshire County Council is now surveying businesses on how they use the internet and how important better connectivity is to them, so that future support can be better tailored to their needs.
A short survey is available for businesses to complete online at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/broadband-business-survey
David Ralph, Chief Executive of the D2N2 LEP, said: “High speed broadband is a key tool in business operations. The extended rollout of high speed broadband will help businesses in the area connect, grow and create jobs.”
Councillor Roy Allan, Vice-Chair of the Economic Development Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, added: “So that we can further support businesses to access the opportunities that this new digital infrastructure provides, we need to better understand how they use the internet and what the potential barriers are to them getting the best out of it.”
More information about the Better Broadband for Nottinghamshire programme is available at web link www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/broadband
Media requiring more information about the work of the D2N2 LEP can contact Sean Kirby, D2N2 Communications Officer, on 01159 578749 or email: sean.kirby@d2n2lep.org
