EREBUS

Eastern REgion Broadband Uplift Scheme

www.erebusonline.org.uk/

‘Vote for faster broadband’ says EEDA

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is urging everybody in the East of England to spend five minutes to register their demand for faster broadband services.

The new EREBUS project (Eastern REgion Broadband Uplift Scheme), funded and run by EEDA, aims to encourage commercial suppliers to invest in next generation broadband infrastructure in the East of England.

Next Generation Broadband is the infrastructure that supports the  video-rich, bandwidth-hungry services which are being developed in the UK and around the world and increasingly used by businesses, schools, homes and hospitals and other organisations.

As highlighted in the Queen’s Speech in the new Digital Economy Bill, fast broadband is critical to the nation’s economy and for businesses to compete successfully in the global marketplace.

Jan Pinkerton, Head of Business ICT and Intelligence at EEDA said:

“We want to encourage as many people, businesses and public and third sector organisations as possible to register their interest in next generation broadband services through EREBUS.  This is part of our wider strategy to stimulate investment in next generation broadband which is also published today.”

“Access to fast broadband is proven to have a positive impact on the economy, increasing access to services and boosting business opportunities.

“The information resource will help us demonstrate that there is sufficient demand to make commercial investment in next generation broadband worthwhile.  We plan to use this to attract funding from the private sector and from Europe.

The project will establish a database that will pinpoint demand down to postcode level.  A map of where people want faster broadband the most will be published early in 2010.

Jan added:

“The minimum we need is the postcode and email address but as much information as possible would be very helpful for our campaign so please register on the EREBUS website.”