Broadband in Suffolk Conference April 2011
On the morning of Wednesday 6 April I hosted a conference/seminar on broadband provision in Suffolk at the Waveney House Hotel in Beccles, Suffolk. The program is still available here
| Download Conference Programme
The event was very well attended by people from communities accross Suffolk, including many parish councillors and I would like to thank all of you for your time as well as the speakers, some of who came from outside Suffolk to present to us.
The aim of the Conference was to explore how industry, government and local people can work together to bring broadband to the whole of Suffolk, including the Waveney Valley. Such partnership is central to the Government's vision for a Superfast Broadband Future.
The introductory presentations from Dr Stuart Burgess and Adrian Wooster made very clear that parts of Suffolk and particularly Waveney suffer from poor communications of all kinds and may require an innovative mix of public and private investment and innovative technology solutions, utilising existing infrastructures, to have access to high performance broadband at affordable cost.
I was very pleased to welcome Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, responsible for broadband, Ed Vaizey who gave an excellent keynote speech, outlining the Government's vision to provide funding specifically for areas not currently commercially viable for most internet service providers. The Minister answered a number of challenging questions and the session was, I think most will agree, informative and entertaining.
The conference then heard from Robert Ling from Broadband delivery UK (BDUK), the body responsible for delivering the Government's vision, who outlined the criteria for bidding for Government funding.
Andy Wood and Peter Ingram then gave an excellent presentation outlining the Choose Suffolk bid to be submitted for BDUK funding. My role is as a critical friend to this bid, doing what I can to help, but primarily ensuring that the constituents I represent have a voice.
After a break the conference heard from representatives from BT and other services providers, followed by representatives of publicly owned infrastructure, all of whom gave an insight into the different solutions to providing good quality broadband to all parts of Suffolk
Photos: Peter Aldous chairing questions to Minister Ed Vaizey
Ed Vaizey giving keynote speech to Suffolk audience
Ed Vaizey with Peter Aldous and Therese Coffey MP
Ed Vaizey with Peter Aldous, Therese Coffey MP and Dr Dan Poulter MP
