There has been much campaigning in the North Devon area by rural and business communities to get the benefits of high speed broadband enjoyed by the majority of the UK, finally we have news that this will become a reality within the next calendar year.

Last year there was talk of local businesses having to relocate to take advantage of Cornwall’s ‘windfall’ with new broadband funding and worries that we were missing out in North Devon – recent announcement's that Barnstaple is in the next round of BT’s plans to roll out high-speed fibre broadband allays those fears. It means that broadband speeds are going to increase dramatically in the Town once work is undertaken to upgrade BT’s street cabinets, which is good for local business.

Jon Reynolds, BT’s South West Regional director, said: ‘The fibre broadband network we’re building today will underpin the local economy for many years to come’. Which was some welcome news on the same day that door maker Leaderflush Shapland announced its plans to cease operations at the Barnstaple factory in November, with the loss of 72 jobs.

Faster broadband speeds via fibre allow new technologies like Voice over broadband (VoIP) and video conferencing to flourish because of the reliability and efficiency it provides. File sharing and downloads will be almost instantaneous with download speeds of up to 80Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20Mbps expected. Large files can be moved around the world in a matter of seconds. Similarly software up-dates and complete system back up’s will take no time at all, it will benefit everyone who has a need to use the Internet.

For offices and shop chains that need to be connected to one another the new fibre could replace leased lines and expensive circuits that currently run all kinds of applications in ‘the Internet cloud’, like customer relationship management, accounts and human resources.

Louise Brown of Cash Brokers Barnstaple can’t wait for the new broadband service. ‘We opened our shop in November of last year and have struggled with broadband speeds and reliability, having fibre directly into the shop will overcome these issues in an instant’.

It is conceivable that this announcement could encourage more businesses to relocate in North Devon and to take advantage of lower costs, new technologies and of course our lifestyle, which is a far cry from our fears of yesteryear!

One of the companies looking to support businesses in understanding and taking advantage of the new broadband opportunities is Devon Telecom. Clive Madge, Director said ‘As we become ever more reliant on digital technology, high speed connection is vital to keep the momentum going. This is excellent news for the area and comes on the back of the new 4G mobile network launch, which will offer speeds of up to 100Mbps to your mobile. So whatever you do, whether you are office based or mobile, it’s going to be happening a whole lot faster in the near future’.

For more information about the implications for your business and to speak to Clive call 01271 567890