4 February 2015
Waveney MP Peter Aldous welcomed a visit by Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Sajid Javid to Beccles as ‘Better Broadband for Suffolk’ switches on fibre broadband cabinets in Beccles.
 
Over 3,500 homes and businesses across Beccles can now access super-fast broadband, largely as a result of Suffolk’s continuing Better Broadband roll out. This week 1,000 additional properties were given the opportunity to connect as part of the contract between Suffolk County Council and BT. This supplements the 2,500 properties that were previously served by BT’s commercial Superfast Broadband programme.  
 
Members of the Beccles Business Traders’ Association have already begun benefitting from the upgrade.  Christine Pinsent, Chair of the Group looks forward to the improved speeds of around 62Mbps that will help her members manage their online transactions and processes quickly and efficiently. Roland Blunk of Swan House Boutique Inn thinks that providing improved connection speeds to guests will really help his business flourish and help with his business systems.
 
Beccles is ahead of comparably sized market towns in other parts of the UK, and is one of the leading parts of Suffolk benefitting from the Suffolk Better Broadband Programme.  
 
There are around 4,000 total premises in Beccles. The remaining 500 properties will be targeted during the next period of rollout when the final connections are put in place.
 
Mr. Aldous commented: “It was good to welcome Sajid Javed to Beccles shortly after superfast broadband has become available to properties in the Town Centre. Technical difficulties have prevented this happening before now and I’m very much aware that this has been frustrating to many people. Suffolk County Council and BT have worked hard to address the problem and now that they have done so, local businesses such as Swan House will be able to attract more customers in to Beccles which will benefit the local economy.”
 
Photo: Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Sajid Javid visits Beccles to talk about the rollout of superfast broadband in the town. Local MP Peter Aldous, Christne Pincent, Sajid Javid, Roland Blunk and Mark Bee.