Suffolk village to get community fibre broadband network

A community fibre optic broadband network will be rolled out in the Suffolk village of Parham thanks to East of England Development Agency funding.

The body has awarded Suffolk Action with Communities in Rural England a £250,000 grant that could bring super-fast access to every home and business in the community.

Some of the money will also be spent on the launch of a wireless broadband network that will serve properties in rural parts of eastern Suffolk.

Jenny Stockman, business development manager at the local Framlingham Technology Centre, described next-generation broadband access as "vital" to Parham.

"A high-speed fibre optic broadband connection has been absolutely essential for all of the businesses at the centre for ten years," she remarked.

Lack of potential return means the likes of BT and Virgin Media tend to avoid remote locations in their fast broadband rollout programmes.

However, BT has included the town of Newmarket on one of its most recent lists of exchanges to be upgraded, with the work set to take place by next spring.