Posted: 11th Mar, 2011 By: MarkJ

The
Norfolk County Council (NCC) has hinted that its effort to improve the regions broadband internet access, by rolling out 40Mbps (e.g. FTTC from BT UK) capable technology to 85% of the area, could
cost upwards of £60m to achieve.
The council first revealed its intention to bid for a slice of the £530m Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) budget last December 2010 (
here) and has since been kept busy with construction of its approach.
The Council Member for Sustainable Development, Ann Steward, said (EveningNews24):"We all know that broadband is the future and that it is becoming a necessity but in some areas we don’t even have the most basic infrastructure. We are aware of the money that is there and we are going all out to get as much as we can. Our message to BDUK is quite simple; help us get the broadband speed we deserve."
However NCC does not expect to get all the cash that it requires, although BT has already promised to match any public funding with its own money and that could potentially reduce what's needed to £30m.
To date 4,000 residents and businesses across the county have registered their need for faster broadband services via the
Eastern Region Broadband Uplift Scheme (ERBUS). A long-range Wi-Fi (wireless internet) pilot is also being conducted in two villages (Hilgay and West Dereham).