THOUGHT

46
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
47
Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital and Culture More households and businesses will be able to benefit in the months to come
Acting Superfast to
connect a county
Access to broadband
frequently features
as one of the most
important issues for
Shropshire businesses –
particularly those who are
based in the most rural
or remote corners of the
county.
The Superfast Telford broadband
partnership has celebrated the achievement
of two important milestones.
More than 2,000 homes and businesses
across the borough are now able to access
faster fibre broadband as a result of the
partnership, which connected the first
premises in Dawley just over 12 months
ago.
Other areas of the borough to benefit so
far include Lawley and Oakengates.
In addition, households and businesses
in Ironbridge, Lightmoor, Rodington and
Waters Upton have been able to access
fibre broadband for the first time as a result
of the Superfast Telford roll-out.
Local residents Emma and Edward
Thomas were among the first to opt for an
upgrade when fibre broadband went ‘live’ in
Waters Upton.
Emma, a senior executive in an
international financial services firm, said:
“We wanted high-speed broadband in order
for us both to be online at the same time,
and because we often need to connect a
number of different devices to the internet. It
has made a huge difference to us since we
upgraded in May.
“Having access to this kind of
technology means we can live in the
countryside but be as connected as if we
were in the city.
The Superfast Telford broadband
partnership is celebrating milestones
“I think it is very important that people
like us can work from home and not have to
travel miles to work every day or even have
to move back to the city to do our jobs.
“These days we do everything online,
especially since having our baby in July.
Being able to do things like internet banking
and shopping makes things a million
times easier, especially in the run-up to
Christmas.
“We also use iplayer a lot for
downloading and catching up with TV.
But the new service is also fast enough to
stream live content as it happens rather
than having to download overnight.”
Lead partners on the Superfast Telford
project are Telford & Wrekin Council and
BT.
Matt Hancock, Minister of State for
Digital and Culture, said: “Fast, reliable
broadband is no longer a luxury but a
necessity.
“Superfast speeds will bring significant
benefits to people in Telford and Wrekin
– helping them to do business, access
public services and connect with family and
friends in a simpler and quicker way.
“It’s great to hear more than 2,000
homes and businesses are now able to
connect and I hope many more will follow.”
Councillor Angela McClements, Telford
& Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for
Customer and Neighbourhood Services,
said: “As the roll-out continues even more
households and businesses will be able to
benefit in the coming weeks and months
thanks to the terrific work of the project
team.
“It’s important to remind people that
upgrades do not happen automatically.
Once an area has gone ‘live’, households
and businesses who want to take
advantage of the many benefits, like the
Thomas family, need to opt for an upgrade
through their chosen fibre broadband
provider.”
Ian Binks, BT’s regional manager for
the West Midlands, said: “Faster fibre
broadband is changing the way people
communicate, learn and do business.
“Whether you’re updating a website,
researching the internet for homework or
using it for catch-up TV – everything is
easier, better and faster if you use fibre
broadband, especially at this busy time of
the year.”
By the end of 2017, around 9,300
households and businesses will have
access to fibre broadband, with 8,800
of them able to get ‘superfast’ download
speeds of 24 megabits per second (Mbps)
and above.
All the latest information on the
programme can be found on the
partnership’s website by visiting
www.superfast-telford.co.uk
The site includes a map searchable
by postcode where people can sign up to
receive updates.
The big advantage of the hosted system Horizon is that there is no hardware on site, except for handsets, and it has an
easy to configure web-based portal so is ideal for multi-site businesses and home workers alike
Matt
SANDFORD
Hosted phone systems
were one of the big
technology success
stories of 2016 and I predict
their popularity continuing
to boom during the coming
year.
Our company recently reported a huge
surge in sales of hosted ‘VoIP phones’,
which carry calls over the Internet, and
these are now the fastest growing systems
in the UK.
There has been exceptional expansion
in this sector in the last 12 months, and as
we have now developed into a specialist in
this area we are finding that hosted phone
services now form a very substantial part of
our business.
The big advantage of our hosted
system, Horizon, is that there is no
hardware on site except for handsets and
it has an easy to configure web-based
portal so is ideal for multi-site businesses
and home workers, giving firms of all sizes
the features and benefits of big expensive
corporate systems within a user-friendly
online portal.
It means you can take your number
wherever you go!
The entire system is then centralised
in the cloud, meaning it can be accessed
from anywhere with an internet connection
in the event of a disaster and there are no
on-going maintenance costs.
We cover site survey, installation and
all UK landline and mobile calls, as well as
features such as call recording and auto
attendant, in a simple monthly licence fee.
Plans can be created for different
circumstances, such as bank holidays
or unexpected office closures, and calls
can be diverted or twinned with employee
smartphones to be answered away from
their desks.
A hosted phone system is particularly
good for companies with home-based or
‘on the road’ employees as it means that
calls to their direct dial or office extension
numbers can be seamlessly diverted to
their mobiles, making contact easier and
quicker for customers and ensuring that
the employees feel an integral part of the
company team.
The system is also ideal expanding and
developing to suit a company’s changing
needs.
Local companies who have recently had
Pure’s Horizon system installed included
Pipekit, Beaumont Lawrence, Miller Evans
and Nick Jones Wealth Planning, which is
based on Shrewsbury Business Park and
has business and private clients across the
country.
Principal Nick Jones said: “My initial
reservations regarding the quality of calls on
a VoIP system have proven unfounded.
“Now we have a much more
professional system, allowing many more
calls in and out simultaneously leading to a
great experience for our clients and much
more productive time for the team making
and receiving calls.”
• Matt Sandford is managing director
of Pure Telecom in Shrewsbury