London's tech firms: We can't get fast fibre optic broadband

Companies in London’s Tech City have been complaining that they cannot access high-speed fibre optic broadband.

David Cameron hopes to turn the east London area into Europe’s hi-tech capital but some entrepreneurs have had to use dongles and slower copper wire connections while running their start-ups.

These businesses have complained that in parts of the area around the “Shoreditch triangle” there is no access to fibre optic broadband.

At the start of this month about 70 companies were invited to meet government officials and BT representatives at 10 Downing Street, where they quizzed them about the lack of access to fibre optic broadband. Hackney South and Shoreditch MP Meg Hillier said: “We have some of the most technically focused companies relying on copper. I spoke to an entrepreneur who had to leave the area because the internet was so slow.

“I am frustrated at the intractable nature of this problem.

“Everyone seems to want to blame someone else.”

BT, whose Openreach infrastructure division is in charge of the connections, said it offers several options for companies who want fibre optic broadband. The firms affected say that many of these are extortionately expensive.

A BT spokesman said that about two-thirds of Tech City companies have fibre optic broadband.