Volunteer social enterprise groups have joined forces to offer ultra-fast fibre optic broadband to East Anglia – including South Norfolk and North Suffolk. They plan to deliver 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) download and upload speeds for £30 per month including line rental and VAT.
They plan to deliver 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) download and upload speeds for £30 per month including line rental and VAT.
Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN) announced last week that it is extending its pure fibre optic network into East Anglia with the volunteer group, Broadband for Rural Norfolk, becoming the East Anglian division of B4RN. B4RN launched in 2011, as a volunteer-run non-profit community benefit society. It now delivers full fibre broadband to more than 90 communities in Lancashire, Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales. B4RN says that rural communities have been left behind urban areas and have poorer phone and broadband services – and that poor connections are having a negative impact on people, education and businesses.
B4RN East Anglia’s volunteer regional director, Michael Davey, said: “The East Anglia initiative has been created entirely from the needs of the community, people coming together and saying ‘enough is enough, we’ve got to do something about rural broadband’. “The current network of ageing copper and aluminium cables dramatically slows the speed of broadband. “Even when fibre is connected to it, nothing is being done to prevent constant breaks caused by the ancient infrastructure.