HUNDREDS of businesses in Spalding are being urged to add their voice to the Broadband Means Business campaign to help bring a superfast service to the town.
The Guardian has teamed up with the OnLincolnshire project to call on more businesses to register at OnLincolnshire.org in a bid to improve online access in the county.
When the campaign launched last week, 115 businesses in Spalding had registered in a call for poor connectivity to be improved.
The goal is to get 10,000 businesses across Lincolnshire to register with the OnLincolnshire website by November, meaning every single firm in Spalding has a role to play.
The list of signed-up businesses will then be used to lobby service providers to put a better infrastructure in place, helping to secure digital freedom in Spalding.
The OnLincolnshire initiative is part of Lincolnshire County Council’s Broadband Plan which aims to bring next-generation broadband (a minimum of 24mbps) to 90% of county premises and a guarantee of at least 2mbps by 2015.
A pot of public and private sector cash worth around £57 million will be invested in a better service, including £10m from the county council and £4m from the district councils.
Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Institute of Directors (IoD) are also helping to spread the word.
Simon Beardsley, chief executive at the chamber said: “The business community in Spalding will see huge benefits once there is better broadband provision in the area.
“All they need to do to help get to that point is to take just a couple of minutes and register with OnLincolnshire.org to help bring that provision here.
“Even if you already have good broadband, this is a chance to support the wider community.”
Businesses with little or no broadband access can register at Spalding Library.