The Dorset Chamber of Commerce & Industry has conducted a survey of the regions businesses and found that 64% required a connection speed of more than 10Mbps (Megabits / per second) and 86% want to achieve this within the next year.

The study, covered by Dorset Business, also found that 39% of firms currently receive speeds of between 1-4Mbps, with 31% getting 5-8Mbps. The respondents revealed that 43% were supplied by BT and just 10% by Virgin Media ; it's likely that the BT figure is probably a lot higher because many firms will be unaware of who delivers the service to their ISP.

Happily last year saw the Dorset Chamber Council create a new Digital Dorset Taskforce to pursue the issue of faster broadband provision, which is already working with BT to lay two "super-fast" fibre optic broadband cables into costal Portland for the 2012 Olympic Games (sailing). These will also help to serve the areas of Poole and Bournemouth.


The survey also found that 33% of regional businesses pay up to £20 a month for broadband, which is quite low and suggests a high uptake of consumer-grade business broadband solutions, while 27% paid up to £30. The research added that most businesses would be unwilling to pay more.

Furthermore both C4L and the i3 Group ( Fibrecity ) are currently installing 100Mbps FTTH fibre optic broadband solutions across Bournemouth. Suffice to say that Dorset may have its problems, especially in rural locations, but it's by no means the slowest county for broadband in the UK.