LEADERS from some of the world’s largest communication companies are coming to Blandford to consider the findings of a report on bringing superfast broadband to North Dorset.

Campaigners to bring the latest digital technology to the north of the county will present their report to executives from BT, Ericsson and C4L at the Parish Rooms on Friday.

Steve Adamson, who has led a project to establish the need for increased internet speeds, said the project’s concerns were shared nationally.

“We are being taken very seriously. We feel we have caught a wave. People from different areas are talking about superfast broadband – from government, and from industry,” said Mr Adamson.

Proposals to deliver fibre-based broadband to rural areas of the country – dubbed ‘the final third’ – have climbed the public agenda, with the government pledging £530million to its Broadband Delivery UK project.

“We are in the right place at the right time with the right project. We are the final third.

“North Dorset has poor infrastructure – just one train station, and the bus service is no good,” he said.

“It is one of the most stunning areas in the UK, but if we are to attract or even to retain the businesses we have, we have to deliver superfast broadband to allow them to evolve.

“Documents, drawings and graphics require high bandwidth, which we don’t have.”

Consultant Adrian Wooster will present a report commissioned by the Communities Partnership Executive of North Dorset (CPEND) to industry leaders on Friday.