The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called on the government to get the nation’s broadband up to speed following their investigation into how poor internet connections are damaging business. Around 45,000 small businesses are still using dial-up and thousands more have to work with painfully slow speeds of just 2Mpbs a second.
The FSB says everyone in Britain must have 5Mpbs a second by 2017 with much higher speeds in the years to follow. They say Denmark is committed to 100 Mbps by 2020, while South Korea has a target of 1000 Mbps by 2017. The organisation also demands business should be at the heart of the roll out of high-speed broadband and the government should prioritise the delivery of fibre-optic broadband to business communities such as retail parks. The FSB say there needs to be structural reform of the broadband market to make this happen with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to conduct, at the request of Ofcom, an assessment into the current market structure.
A superfast broadband connection is absolutely vital for any sign business that wants to grow”
Speaking exclusively to Sign Link Norman Mayhew of Sussex Signs says: “A superfast broadband connection is absolutely vital for any sign business that wants to grow. If you don’t then downloading images and information is not possible and the sign business can’t function properly. It is especially true in a business like ours that relies on image and data.”
Mayhew says that the future of the sign industry will rely on faster and faster broadband and in implication will affect industrial growth and national employment if the Government doesn’t act in line with the demands made by the FSB.
Sidney Bobb who represents many in the wide-format industry through the British Association for Print and Communication says: “Would you ask a surgeon to operate with a blunt scalpel? Every print business needs superfast broadband in order to compete for work and to serve their customers. The government needs to invest in the infrastructure to help our industries to operate effectively.”
It is quite shameful that the country that invented the internet is now lagging so far behind other parts of the world, especially the Far East and North America”
Meanwhile David Catanach of the British Sign and Graphics Association (BSGA) was equally emphatic the industry needs better internet connections. Speaking to Sign Link this week he says: “Obviously, reliable high speed broadband would be of benefit to every business, especially the creative sector which includes sign making.”
Industry figures have called on the Government to improve broadband for business
“It is quite shameful that the country that invented the internet is now lagging so far behind other parts of the world, especially the Far East and North America. The BSGA fully supports the aims of the FSB. High speed broadband with reliable connections and parity between upload and download speeds is crucial to the future success and competiveness of UK commerce and industry.”
The industry charged with installing internet cabling came under criticism from the FSB saying rural areas where many sign-making businesses are located were poor relations compared to urban areas in terms of broadband. But they also picked out a business park in Greater Manchester which, despite being close to a fibre-optic broadband point, were not connected.
ENDS