THE 21st century has finally arrived for internet surfers hoping to access a speedy village broadband service.
For many years rural communities have suffered with poor web access while those in towns and cities have seen increasing speeds and better service.
But now, Long Melford is joining the growing number of Suffolk and north Essex villages able to acc
ess a wireless connection with speeds up to eight Mb.
The new connection by County Broadband – a Coggeshall based company specialising in connecting rural areas to the internet – will be up and running by the beginning of November.
Director Lloyd Felton said: "The response we have had from other villages recently connected has been very encouraging. Residents in Gestingthorpe said their broadband connections are everything they hoped it would be – fast and reliable."
He said the company's objective was to support rural communities poorly served by broadband to enhance the prosperity, enjoyment and convenience of rural living by bridging the digital divide that continues to widen between urban and rural communities.
"There has been a plateau in service delivery between 400k and 1Mb and the general public believe they are getting broadband, when in actual fact, many of the up-and-coming applications will need speeds far in excess of this if they are to be properly experienced," he added.
Clive Waite, chairman of the Foxearth and Liston Action Group was behind the recent switch to wireless in Foxearth and Liston.
The Foxearth resident said: "If we wait for new fibre optics to be connected to rural areas, which is the only alternative to wireless, we could be waiting for years if not forever.
"This has revolutionised how people access the internet in rural areas and means we are no longer the poor relations of the city."
He said residents in both villages were seeing speeds of four to eight Mb since the wireless network was connected.
People wanting to sign up will pay a £99 one-off payment for connection followed by monthly fees of £16 or £19 – depending on speed requirement.
For more information call County Broadband on 08704 461060 or go to www.countybroadband.co.uk.
