Norfolk businesses in need of faster broadband access

Sadly, Norfolk and Suffolk did not appear in the list of telephone exchanges, recently released by the broadband provider, BT for its 40Mpbs fibre broadband rollout. There is not only the issue of poor broadband connectivity affecting the communities in the county, but there are also many areas that have no broadband network coverage, says the chairman of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) in Norfolk.

Rural businesses are currently facing a new problem after Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has made it mandatory that the firms with turnovers of over £100,000 to file tax returns online.

Local businesses in many areas in Norfolk like  Croxton, Catfield, Happisburgh, Brundall, Yaxham Hingham,  Wroxham, Lenwate, Tittleshall, Salhous, Spixworth, and Great Dunham do not have quality broadband to meet this requirement, according to Norfolk CLA chairman, Chris Allhusen.

“It is beyond belief that HMRC can impose this requirement. Have its officers (HMRC) any idea how long it can take to download these vast forms, if indeed the system doesn’t crash before downloading is complete.” he asked.

The mandatory online form-filling would also mean additional costs for the rural businesses that receive low connection speeds as they would need to hire accountants to file the returns online, he added.

To enable super-fast broadband rollout to reach rural and remote areas, a portion of the savings made from online-only tax and VAT returns should be invested on improving rural broadband infrastructure, he suggested.