Ahead of the general election, Norfolk Chamber is setting out the key Norfolk business asks for any future government. The Chamber is calling on all the political parties to consider the importance for Norfolk businesses to be able to access fast, reliable broadband.
Technology and how we use it is evolving rapidly, but Norfolk’s digital infrastructure needs to keep pace. As more and more businesses rely on technology, Norfolk Chamber is keen to ensure that both our digital infrastructure and our business community are ready to take advantage of new technology developments as they evolve.
Whilst approx. 86% of Norfolk has access to 24mbps, a recent British Chambers of Commerce survey, reported that the Norfolk business community still thought that Norfolk’s digital infrastructure was not yet totally fit for purpose. Throughout the county, significant numbers of companies of every size and sector said they lacked reliable internet connectivity – a basic requirement for businesses to operate efficiently in today’s world.
Commenting on the need to provide more access to superfast broadband, Lynsey Sweales, a Norfolk Chamber Board Member and Director of Social B said:
“A reliable broadband connection is absolutely vital for all companies, yet 20% of Norfolk companies suffer from unreliable connections. The BCC survey shows that firms in rural areas are at least twice as likely to have unreliable connections as those in towns. The focus of any future government must be on providing businesses with sufficient and reliable broadband connections to enable to them to do business confidently. Having a business in a rural location shouldn’t mean you sacrifice market opportunities, businesses operating in Norfolk as well as businesses looking to invest and trade with Norfolk businesses need broadband confidence to do business”
The survey also showed that with more reliable connections Norfolk businesses could do more. Over half of businesses (54%) said that if the reliability of their broadband connection was improved it would allow them to use more applications, particularly cloud-based services (24%), transfer of large files (16%), and remote server access for employees (14%).
Commenting on the need for further broadband improvements, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“Unreliable connections stunt productivity, causing needless delays, costs and frustration. While businesses across the county are affected, it is the rural areas and small businesses that are most likely to suffer. An unreliable connection acts as a barrier to growth, and puts those companies most in need of support at a competitive disadvantage.
“These are a few of the reasons why Norfolk Chamber is calling for any future government to commit to more investment in broadband infrastructure across our county to ensure that local businesses, whether they are based in the city, market towns or in rural locations, can be compete on a level playing field with the rest of the UK and beyond.”
