FSB calls for faster broadband for small businesses
Small businesses have called on telecoms companies to provide better broadband packages for SMEs.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has published a report which calls for a minimum broadband speed to be set across the UK. It states that while progress has been made in this area over recent years, there is still a gap that must be addressed between customer expectations, received quality of service and promised delivery by providers.
According to the FSB, all businesses in Britain should be able to access broadband speeds of at least 10 Mbps. At present many firms are still complaining about slow or unreliable services, which in turn is hampering their business.
Indeed, the report said that 99 per cent of SMEs rate their internet connection as highly important to their work. Without it the businesses can become disengaged from the market and miss out on customers, the FSB warned.
Mike Cherry, the FSB's policy director, said: “Large numbers of small firms are using new digital technology to revolutionise the way they do business, but the market still has barriers stopping firms from seizing these opportunities.
“The success of the digital revolution has led to ever higher expectations from businesses and consumers which at times the market struggles to deliver.”
One of the main problems SMEs are encountering is that they are not made aware of what broadband services are available to them; just over a third (36 per cent) of businesses said they knew that superfast broadband was available in their area. Another common complaint was that it takes too long to repair faults and to install new services.
The FSB wants the minimum broadband speeds for businesses to be set at 10 Mbps, rather than 5 Mbps that has been suggested.
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