An internet revolution 'will have the same impact as the railway'

IT professionals fear that businesses could be driven away from North Yorkshire unless adequate broadband is provided.

The pioneering scheme to provide high speed internet coverage across England's largest county was unveiled three years ago, but concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of the NYNET project.

IT experts at Hambleton District Council have claimed that problems in providing the internet access to at least one business park could see enterprise relocate elsewhere.

The council's IT manager, Graeme Thistlethwaite, has revealed that firms on the Stokesley Business Park are not expecting the high-speed broadband connections to be installed.

He said: "There are businesses on the estate that are heavily reliant on good broadband provision, not just today, but to ensure they can survive and prosper in the future.

"If this problem is not addressed, businesses may seek to relocate to areas where broadband provision meets their requirements and the business park will no longer be an estate attracting high-growth businesses with high-skilled employment."

The broadband project, which is being overseen by North Yorkshire County Council, was heralded as important as the arrival of the railways when it was announced in February of 2007.

The scheme was launched to provide state-of-the-art internet connections for hundreds of locations, including schools, libraries and council offices, as well as private businesses.

However, NYNET officials have admitted that the system is connected to just 41 of the 107 exchanges across North Yorkshire, although it is hoped that the number will increase in the coming years.

This has meant that high-speed broadband access is only available to businesses located close to the exchanges linked in to the project.

Officials from NYNET confirmed that they are involved in talks with Hambleton District Council to iron out the issues at the Stokesley Business Park, and a meeting is due to be held at the end of this month.

A NYNET spokesman admitted that the cost of installing equipment at the business park would be high, and would only be viable if there are enough companies willing to sign up to the project.

He added: "Several companies indicated they would be interested in connections and NYNET has been working on possible options to providing connectivity into the business park.

"NYNET will be meeting with Hambleton District Council again at the end of this month to discuss those options."

The county-wide initiative was set up to provide almost blanket coverage of internet broadband, in the hope of attracting a new breed of businesses which rely on cutting-edge technology.

The move was also aimed at protecting companies already based in North Yorkshire and ensuring that they can remain viable in the increasingly competitive global business world.

The broadband access project is already supplying a series of business parks across the county, including more than 100 firms in both the creative and digital sectors on three sites alone.

Public sector contracts involving the emergency services, councils and the NHS have been secured with more than a dozen organisations and the deals are worth in excess of 6m a year.

More than 35,000 workers are employed across science and technology-related sectors in North Yorkshire, and almost 30 per cent more work in creative industries than in agriculture.

There are more than 2,800 science and technology-based businesses in the county, and North Yorkshire's creative and digital output is forecast to increase by 55 per cent to almost 1bn by 2016.