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Funding secured for high speed broadband in Yarmouth

23 Feb 2011

The Isle of Wight has secured funding which will enable high speed broadband to be brought to the Yarmouth Telephone Exchange area (including Wellow, Thorley, Ningwood and Fort Victoria).

Natural Enterprise has been working in partnership with local businesses and residents to secure the RDPE (Rural Development Programme for England) funding specifically allocated for bringing high speed broadband to rural areas within the South East region. In February 2011 Natural Enterprise were informed of their successful application and now plan to offer high speed broadband to Yarmouth before looking at additional rural areas on the Isle of Wight that would benefit from the service.

Image: Laurence Mitchell (member of the Yarmouth Business Association),Brian Friend (Chairman of Natural Enterprise), Graham Biss (Managing Director, Natural Enterprise)

Graham Biss, Managing Director of Natural Enterprise said “E-connectivity is one of our key priorities and when we saw the chance to win funding it was too good an opportunity to miss. Everyone’s reliance on the internet is increasing and so to get high speed broadband is a chance to keep our rural areas competitive.”

The project will be run by Natural Enterprise, a not for profit organisation, with local company, Navigate IT and Telecoms providing the expertise and technical support required. The technology being used to roll out this high speed broadband is tried and tested and is currently being used in Newport, Ryde and Cowes and other parts of the UK. The administrative and technical support will both be run locally.

Paul Wood, Managing Director of Navigate IT and Telecoms said “We have been line testing in the area and it’s encouraging to see that in most cases we can anticipate speeds to be 2-3 times faster than people are currently receiving, which for some will mean speeds in excess of 18 mbps (megabits per second)”.

Brian Friend, Chairman of Natural Enterprise said “We are delighted to be able to help achieve rural broadband for this part of the Island. We recognise the importance of connectivity and want to give our local economy the competitive edge it needs. We need to make sure that just because we’re in a rural area we’re not left behind.”

The project is nearing the end of its development stage with subscriber contracts being drawn up by Lawdit Solicitors, the project’s legal partner. With the official launch planned for 25 March 2011. Natural Enterprise is encouraging people to register their interest at www.makeyarmouthfaster.com with contracts being sent out to those residents and businesses who have requested them in advance.

Brian Friend added, “It is important we sign up 130 people in the early stages and these will benefit from a free connection; this is a community venture and our aim is to reduce costs to the community where possible.”

Laurence Mitchell, owner of Laurence Mitchell Jewellers and member of The Yarmouth Business Association said “Yarmouth Business Association have supported this project from the outset. It’s vital for our businesses to be competitive. I’ve had my lines tested and I’m amazed at the speeds my I can get in Yarmouth. This will have a massive impact on my business where so much is done through my website.”

If you would like more information on how you could get Yarmouth Broad band please call 01983 550400

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