Getting town up to broadband speed
STOKESLEY businesses are set to get an ultra high-speed broadband network after fierce complaints that connectivity was too slow and unreliable.
The Springboard Business Centre on the Stokesley Business Park will act as a broadband hub, delivering speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (mbps) to firms across the town by the end of the year.
A second phase, which would give firms access to a more reliable and faster service without ultra high broadband speeds, is being considered.
Business leaders, who had warned of a digital drain as companies sought faster connectivity elsewhere, have welcomed the move.
MC Ware, based on Stokesley high street, said it was important that the scheme was made available to businesses wherever they were in the town.
MD Jonathan Wheatley said: “We certainly want to see it (broadband access) on the high street.
“A lot of businesses selling things online need connectivity - which at the moment they’re not getting.
“It could be the difference between a firm of solicitors moving into the high street or not,” he said.
The service is being delivered by NYnet, set up by North Yorkshire County Council. While it refused to confirm connectivity charges, it said it would be “cheaper than anything else that’s currently available”.
The 20-unit Springboard Business Centre said the new service would add “a small increase” to its monthly costs but that the investment was “well worth it”.
Small firms in other rural areas of Teesside say they are similarly constrained by unreliable broadband connections.
Although BT is promising super- fast broadband for most users within five years, areas such as Stokesley Business Park, which is home to around 120 firms, is not currently on the radar for the BT21 programme, which is rolling out access to high speed broadband services.
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