RESIDENTS and businesses in Dorset are one step closer to having superfast internet after a £9.5million Government broadband boost.

The news announced yesterday by the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is part of a £530million national rollout.

It will mean that residents and businesses in Dorset will benefit from a superfast broadband service in 90 per cent of households or properties by 2015 with the aim that everyone should be able to have access to at least two megabytes per second.

Now all local authorities are being urged to prioritise the need of each area and lead the roll-out throughout the county.

Dorset County Council welcomed the announcement after spending months working with the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) project to secure the funding.

Leader of Dorset County Council Angus Campbell said: “This is good news for Dorset.

“Giving everyone in the county, particularly rural communities, a decent broadband connection is a priority for the county council as it is an essential ingredient for future prosperity.

“The allocation of £9.44million is about what we anticipated when looking at match funding. We will now be taking a joint approach between county and district councils to ensure the necessary funds can be found.

“A great deal of work also needs to be done with local businesses and community groups to ensure the benefits can be shared by all.”

In July, the council’s cabinet agreed that match funding of £10million to £15million over three years would need to be found locally for broadband delivery.

This has been endorsed by the six borough and district councils in Dorset and all councils have agreed to work together to secure the match funding, with appropriate contributions to be sought from the private and community sectors.

Weymouth businessman Andy Cooke, managing director of online marketing company Getaway Digital and president of Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce welcomed the news.

He said: “In terms of businesses in Dorset it’s good news especially in the outlying areas and rural locations.”

Although Mr Cooke had concerns that it would be rolled out in a way that would be most beneficial to business and also called for the mobile internet capability to be dramatically improved.

Paul Weeks, director of the website and graphic design company Digibug in Weymouth, said: “It’s brilliant news for nearly everyone who relies on the web for their business.

“For instance my telephone is over the internet and we depend on it in other ways.

“Businesses in Dorset have been suffering – for instance in our Exeter office the addition of fibre optic cables mean that you can access speeds of 12-14 mbps but in Weymouth I can only get two to four mbps.

“Not only will this help businesses but also people in homes access more TV channels as well as other benefits.”

Minister's message to people of Dorset

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt writes . . .

Your council has a unique opportunity to bring decent broadband to every home and business in Dorset.

We have done our part. We have allocated £9.44 million to upgrade internet access in Dorset.

The UK is facing tough economic conditions but we’ve prioritised broadband because it is vital for growth and the businesses that will create new jobs.

Now it is the turn of your local people to do their part to secure the economic future of Dorset and ensure everyone can get on-line properly.

We have a team of people waiting to help councils secure their share of this funding.

They are ready to work with your local representatives to develop an action plan to bring broadband to all of Dorset.

Companies like BT and Virgin are currently rolling out superfast broadband across the country. They will take it to around two thirds of the UK.

Speak to your local councillor. Tell them you need decent internet.