ISPA says fibre broadband helps new businesses and SMEs

Fibre optic broadband offers "tremendous" opportunities for new and small businesses, according to the Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA).

A spokesman from the industry body said the technology is particularly beneficial to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and young businesses.

"It is important that the benefits are fully utilised," he remarked.

The comments come shortly after BT announced a speed boost for its fibre optic broadband service, with the headline downstream and upstream rates of its Infinity 2 package rising to 76Mbps and 19Mbps respectively.

At the same time, the upload capability of the entry-level Infinity 1 package received a fivefold increase to 9.5Mbps.

BT insisted the infrastructure improvement work will help the government achieve its goal of delivering the best super-fast broadband network in Europe by 2015.

The faster upstream rates will particularly help people who wish to upload pictures, videos and other content, the company explained.

John Petter, managing director of BT Consumer, commented: "BT believes that fast upstream speeds are vital given how people now use the internet."