Tech City businesses get access to fast broadband

Thousands of companies in Tech City — the technology hub in east London — will be able to access fast broadband in a pilot scheme that aims to address complaints that the start-up hotspot has been starved of good internet access.

Businesses in Tech City have been critical of slow and expensive broadband. Access to fibre networks has been hampered by difficulties reaching some buildings, and dedicated lines for small businesses can be prohibitively expensive.

Last year, Meg Hillier, the local Labour MP, said it was a “national embarrassment” that there was no fast internet in large parts of the borough of Hackney, where Tech City is based. Companies can buy dedicated fibre lines but these can cost several hundred pounds a month.

Nearly half the UK’s small and medium-sized companies do not have access to superfast broadband, according to Ofcom, the regulator, which is assessing how to improve services.

Virgin Media Business has said that it will improve connections in the area, with a trial for buildings with shared occupancy. Its pilot will apply to buildings with two or more companies and will be available to at least 2,000 businesses, with development in the next few months to bring in a further 6,000 businesses.

Each of the small businesses in the building will have a dedicated connection, Virgin said. Businesses would be able to increase speeds more than six times.

Internet connectivity is important for business growth, according to the Federation of Small Business, which has long complained of the shortcomings of large providers, such as BT.

Virgin Media Business is also working with landlords and local authorities to cut the time it takes to make new connections.

The capital costs of the project are partly covered by the government’s SuperConnected Cities scheme, which was due to end in March but was recently extended.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has set up a number of schemes to help supply broadband to small businesses, including vouchers to subsidise access to high-speed internet.

BT is also planning to trial technology that could boost broadband speeds in Tech City without installing expensive infrastructure.