HIGH-speed technology designed to save businesses time and money is being extended in Suffolk by telecommunications giant BT.

Halesworth, Whitton and Kesgrave will be the next areas to benefit from the “Ethernet” upgrade which is due for completion next spring and will allow medium-sized firms and other organisations to opt for a guaranteed broadband speed of their choice over their own dedicated line.

The technology has already “gone live” in many communites in the region, including Bungay, Bury St Edmunds, Felixstowe, Foxhall, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lowestoft, Newmarket, Stowmarket, Sudbury, and Thetford.

Customers can choose Ethernet speeds between one megabit per second (Mbps) and 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps), depending on their needs.

At the top rate of 10Gbits the system is capable of transmitting 10 billion bits of information per second and advances in technology mean the service is available at a fraction of those previously provided by a traditional private network.

Medium-sized organisations using voice, data, video and other bandwidth-hungry applications across more than one site are the users most likely to benefit.

Ethernet is available on an open, wholesale basis to all communications companies providing business services. It is already being used by many mobile phone operators to address the rapid growth in demand for mobile data services across the UK.

Dave Hughes, BT’s East of England regional director, said: “This is another important advance for the area. We believe high-speed Ethernet will make this great region even more attractive to potential inward investors and help existing businesses in the county work and communicate more effectively.

“It will also help public sector organisations run even more efficient networks, saving money and protecting public services.

“Ethernet gives organisations the ability to connect to their sites and customers locally, around the UK and internationally on this extremely secure and reliable network,” he added.

This expansion of Ethernet is in addition to BT’s �2.5billion roll-out of super-fast fibre-based broadband, which is expected to reach two-thirds of the UK homes and businesses by the end of 2014.