In 2015, hundreds of businesses in Manor Royal enjoyed faster broadband speeds thanks to a collaboration between the West Sussex Better Connected project, BT and Manor Royal BID.
The Better Connected multi-million pound partnership is jointly funded by West Sussex County Council, BT and the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK). Its aim was to extend fibre broadband coverage to those areas which fall outside the private sector’s commercial fibre broadband plans.
Manor Royal Business Improvement District worked with the Better Connected partnership to achieve its goal of delivering 100% fibre broadband coverage across the 540 acre site, which is home to more than 600 companies. A combination of direct investment by the BID and the West Sussex Better Connected initiative ensured that every business, new and existing, will be able to benefit from this improvement.
Trevor Williams,Thales UK and Chairman of Manor Royal Business District Limited was delighted at the project’s progress, said: “Our collaboration with West Sussex Better Connected and BT is an excellent example of what a good partnership can do. Due to the BID’s investment in this important infrastructure, companies located at Manor Royal are now able to take advantage of the latest technology. This has been a priority project for the BID team and we are delighted that the first phase of the project is now live. We look forward to celebrating 100% fibre coverage in the new year.”
One of the first businesses to sign up for the new faster broadband service was Split Image Ltd, a commercial photographic studio, whose managing director , Mark Curtis, who was delighted with his new broadband connection.
“I’m over the moon that faster fibre broadband has finally arrived at Manor Royal,” he said.” As a company, we need to be able to send large video and image files to our customers quickly, wherever they are in the world. Previously, slow upload speeds were restricting the service we could offer. I had considered moving my business to another area because I couldn’t foresee a resolution to the problem of lack of faster broadband. Also, as a small business, we simply couldn’t afford the expense of commercially leased lines. But thanks to the BID focus on this problem and the partnership they were able to form with the West Sussex Better Connected project, we’re now able to enjoy a faster, more affordable and reliable broadband service. As a result, we definitely plan to stay.”
For further information about the West Sussex Better Connected project visit:
www.westsussex-betterconnected.org.uk
Manor Royal cabinets now accepting orders for faster broadband services included:
Cabinets Crawley 62 and Crawley 112 serving premises in:
• Crompton Way
• Lloyds Court
• The Faraday Centre
• The Stanley Centre
• The Kelvin Business Centre
• Kelvin House
• Durand House
• Aurora House
Cabinet Crawley 134 serving premises in:
• Raleigh Court
• Magellan Terrace
• Crawley Goods Yard
• Gatwick Road
Cabinet Crawley 146 serving premises in:
• The Stanley Centre
• The Brunel Centre
• Newton Road
Cabinet Crawley 115 serving premises in:
• Fleming Way
• Sussex Manor Business Park P
• Priestly Way Crawley
Cabinet Crawley 49 serving premises in:
• The Imperial Centre
• Forgewood Industrial Estate
• Sterling Park
• Gatwick Road
• The Office Building, Gatwick Road
Businesses can check which cabinet they are connected to by clicking on the link below:
http://www.dslchecker.bt.com/adsl/ADSLChecker.AddressOutput
Faster broadband packages can then be ordered from internet service providers in the usual way.
