Mid Sussex District Council is encouraging residents to register with BT for a chance of getting super fast broadband in their area.
Mid Sussex District Council has always recognised the importance of an efficient broadband connection for its residents. In September 2009 the Council responded to the Sustainable Communities Act and achieved national recognition by calling for improved broadband provision for those living and working in rural communities.
The next generation of super fast fibre optic broadband could be coming to Mid Sussex if enough residents register their interest in becoming a test area. To be in with a chance of getting the super fast connection, the local BT exchange must have more than 1000 residents and then local people must register more than 1000 votes.
Once three quarters of the registered residents have declared an interest, BT will carry out an 'active dialogue' with local people before selecting five winning exchanges to be enabled. Registering couldn't be simpler, just go to www.racetoinfinity.bt.com and enter your postcode and telephone number.
The new fibre optic broadband will eventually replace the ADSL broadband we have today. The current system uses a metal wire for the last few miles of broadband connection. The speed of the metal cable is significantly limited by length, as speed reduces the longer it travels along the line. By replacing the metal section with fibre optic cable the broadband connection will run much faster.
Mid Sussex District Council would like to see the provision of broadband internet services to be made the subject of a legal minimum requirement, the same as other infrastructure services like water. Mid Sussex is a predominantly rural area with the vast majority of residents living in rural settlements or market towns. Currently, the provision of broadband internet is unequal and subject to market forces.
Those living in rural areas experience a less affordable and reliable broadband service compared to people who live in major towns and cities and this creates two particular problems in rural areas. It deprives businesses of the opportunity to compete on an equal footing with many of their urban counterparts locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. It also creates a 'Digital Divide' for those communities and individuals that cannot receive affordable and reliable broadband by excluding them from online activities and opportunities.
"People living in rural areas deserve the same level of infrastructure as those living in major towns and cities," said Cllr Christopher Snowling, Cabinet Member for Health and Community. "Equal broadband internet provision encourages commuters to work from home, reducing congestion and CO2 emissions, and will allow our rural businesses to compete with urban companies on a level playing field."
West Sussex County Council is joining the push for improved broadband speeds in rural areas with the aim to have all broadband speeds running at 2Mbps or better by 2012 and speeds in excess of 15Mbps by 2018. The County Council is currently asking residents and businesses to fill in a questionnaire to enable them to understand more deeply the use of internet within West Sussex. In turn, this will help the County Council to build a business case for improved broadband provision in the county.
The questionnaire has been distributed to every household in the county as part of the WSCC Community Connections magazine and an online version is available at www.westsussex.gov.uk/broadband
Please take a look at www.midsussextraders.co.uk/Links.html
and feel free to use any of the links on it at any time.
