Date issued: 15 August 2019
Businesses in Colchester town centre continue to reap the rewards of ultrafast fibre broadband, thanks to an innovative scheme project managed by Colchester Amphora Trading (CATL) – one of the new private companies launched in 2018 by Colchester Borough Council.
The Nationwide Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) is now providing vouchers worth up to £2,500 for a small- or medium-sized business, or £500 for a residential property, to help with the costs of connecting to gigabit broadband.
The scheme is part of a wider government plan to get more homes and businesses connected to full fibre broadband. It builds on the £200 million Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme which gives funding to local areas to boost full fibre delivery.
Councillor Mark Cory, Leader of Colchester Borough Council said: “High-speed broadband is becoming increasingly important in people’s lives – whether it is for running a successful business or providing exceptional broadband facilities to our residents and many visitors from the UK and around the world. It is no longer a ‘nice to have’ in business, but a ‘must have’, and it is fantastic to see this being improved as part of our campaign for a Better Colchester.”
Ben Green from This Is Fever commented on their recent successful installation of full fibre gigabit speed broadband: “Having ultrafast broadband enables us to provide the best possible service to our clients here at This Is Fever. Getting our connection put in place was really straightforward. The entire project team made sure the installation went very smoothly. I’d happily recommend this service to other local businesses looking to improve their productivity.”
Colm Coyle, from RioIT, IT software professionals said: “Rio IT is delighted to have ‘This is Fever’ connected to the new full fibre Gigabit broadband service in Colchester town centre. This is another step in an exciting development for the businesses and residents in the Town and across the wider Colchester area.
“We intend to make full gigabit speed internet connectivity at easily affordable prices the default offering in the Borough and we are excited to be working in partnership with our partners at Colchester Amphora Trading and Scotech to make this shared vision a reality.”
Ron Leslie from Scotech, local data cabling experts, added: “We have been working with RioIT and Amphora Trading for several months, surveying the existing fibre optic infrastructure routes. With our new-found knowledge we were in a prime position to assist in extending the fibre from Scheregate Steps to Fever at the Headgate Theatre. With careful planning and scheduling we were able to complete this project in two days.”
Whilst most UK premises can now get broadband, only 3% have access to gigabit-capable full fibre infrastructure. Connectivity at this level can currently be provided by County Broadband and Rio IT over a new fibre network built by the council during 2016-17, with the hope that other service providers will be available soon to boost customer choice.
With the need for faster connectivity expected to dramatically increase over the coming years, the programme in Colchester aims to dramatically improve local and commercial access to full fibre.
Page last reviewed: 15 August 2019