Students urge residents for vote for better broadband

15th December 2010 3:51pm - Return to press releases

IT students from East Riding College are campaigning to secure better broadband services in Bridlington to help businesses in the town.
Anthony Purvis, James Grayshon, Peter Attack and Martyn Wilson, studying on the Foundation Degree in Computing, say improvements to the town's IT infrastructure will have benefits for the local economy.
They are urging residents and businesses to register on BT's Race to Infinity, which will see high speed fibre optic broadband installed in five locations in the UK by 2012, with the "winners" being those with the highest percentage of residents who register.

James said: "Our campaign is important because in the current economic climate many of our town's businesses have been struggling and we have seen many of them close.
"By improving our IT infrastructure, the town's many businesses will have the capacity for more efficient trading which we hope will see them increase their ability to make profits and will hopefully entice more entrepreneurs and business persons to the area."

The students recently met Martha Lane Fox, the co-founder of lastminute.com and now the government's "digital champion" whose job it is try to get on-line the 10m people in the UK who have never used the internet before. Along with their tutor Shelagh Finlay, the Mayor of Bridlington, they discussed their campaign with Martha on her recent visit to Bridlington.

Cllr Finlay said:  "To win the contest and get a fast link to the internet would increase the prosperity of Bridlington through an increased web presence.  I am really pleased that students are getting involved and promoting this initiative."

Martha said: "I'm delighted that these students are acting as Bridlington's own broadband champions. When we visited recently, we met a lot of great people and found there's still plenty to do to get everyone using the internet.
"Hopefully, Anthony, James, Peter and Martyn will be able to get people's attention and really help them to understand the benefits of fair and equal internet access."

For more information on IT or any other courses at East Riding College, visit www.eastridingcollege.ac.uk or call 0845 120 0037.

 

Ends

Notes to editors

A photograph of the students with Martha Lane Fox and Cllr Finlay is available. For more information, call Matthew Croshaw, marketing and communications manager, on 01482 306612 or email [email protected]