Superfast broadband coming to City of London

Companies based in the City of London are to get access to superfast broadband after a plan to upgrade infrastructure in the area was revealed.

Businesses in the City have been growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of broadband supply in their part of London, but the problem is being addressed.

The City of London Corporation has announced it is taking its own steps in order to bring improved broadband provision to local residents and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Mark Boleat, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, stated that people in the area are fed up of being ignored when upgrades are made to broadband infrastructure.

Speaking to the Financial Times, he said: "We will provide the infrastructure to help new suppliers come into the market to meet the demand for superfast broadband. It is a significant problem."

The business broadband problem in the City has been so severe that some companies have even asked members of staff to work from home if they have a better connection to the internet.

Mr Boleat added: "The 13,500 SMEs in the Square Mile employ many people, are vital energisers of the business environment and need superfast broadband at the right price to bring growth and jobs not just to the City but also to neighbouring areas."

Among the organisations that have lobbied for improvements to be made to the City's broadband infrastructure is the Federation of Small Businesses.

Mr Boleat stated that major broadband suppliers could have provided the necessary broadband infrastructure themselves but accused them of "ignoring" SMEs and residents in the City.

The government also has a voucher scheme designed to help companies to upgrade their business broadband connections, but take-up of the programme has been low and the government recently relaunched the project in an attempt to push it to the public.

Businesses looking to move services into the cloud should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.