Work underway on Norfolk fibre broadband project

Preparations are underway on a project that aims to deliver fibre optic broadband to the majority of homes and businesses in Norfolk, the county council has revealed.

Under the local authority's broadband improvement scheme, £15 million of government money will be spent on rolling out super-fast access to large parts of Norfolk, while the remaining properties will be able to receive speeds of at least 2Mbps.

On top of the Conservative-led coalition's financial support, Norfolk County Council (NCC) has pledged £15 million to the project, while the chosen private sector partner is expected to boost the total investment to £60 million.

The contract is set to be awarded to a telecoms firm by September 2012 and the first properties are in line to be connected in just over 18 months.

It is believed the project will bring faster broadband to almost 275,000 premises that would have been missed by private sector rollouts.

"We know how important improving Norfolk's broadband service is to many of our residents and businesses," commented NCC's cabinet member for economic development Ann Steward.