BUSINESSES and residents across West Somerset are being urged to answer a "call to arms" in support of a major project to get superfast broadband.

The Connecting Devon and Somerset initiative aims to provide 100 per cent broadband coverage of 2Mbps with a minimum of 85 per cent superfast broadband at 24Mbps by 2015 and superfast broadband for all by 2020.

But project partners, who include Somerset and Devon county councils, need at least 10,000 people to sign up to support the bid.

They have already secured £31 million of funding from the Government agency Broadband Delivery UK to move the scheme forward, with the two county councils each pledging a further £10m.

But further investment from the private sector is needed and to secure more cash the project has to demonstrate the demand for broadband.

"It really is a call to arms," said Cllr David Hall, Somerset County Council cabinet member for strategic planning and economic development.

"If we don't have the evidence we can't convince commercial suppliers to go into partnership with us.

"This has real implications for economic growth and the competitiveness of our businesses as well as our ability to provide services."

The campaign, which will be launched on Monday, is calling on people to respond to a survey requesting information on their current online activity.

Questions will focus on current broadband speeds, how much users would be prepared to pay and what faster speeds would mean to them, their business and their community.

According to Ofcom, almost 18 per cent of premises across the two counties are getting less than 2Mbps, with just four per cent of Somerset able to access superfast broadband.

Wheddon Cross-based Shearwell Data Ltd is one of the first businesses in West Somerset to show its support for the project.

The company is among the country's leading providers of integrated farm data management software and services.

Founded in 1990, it provides a range of products to aid identification in cattle, sheep and pigs, from ear tags to electronic identification systems.

The business has grown to employ more than 60 staff but is heavily reliant on the internet for sales and ordering, customer support, advertising, access to remote data centres and communication services that are critical to its success.

Managing director Richard Webber said: "Superfast broadband is a must for our company.

"We currently have a 2Mbps connection which experiences bandwidth overload and connection dropping in equal measure.

"This is far from adequate for a business of this size, even ignoring the fact that we have a high technology focus.

"The lack of good connection means that we are unable to properly satisfy our requirements for remote access, adopting Cloud-based services, website hosting, digital voice and video communication services, database hosting and more advanced customer support systems.

"This is hampering the growth of our business and causes an additional burden to IT staff who have to work around these issues on an ongoing basis."

Mr Webber said that without good quality rural broadband it was hard to see how farmers in areas like Exmoor would be able to keep pace with data management technologies.

"As changes to farming legislation become increasingly automated, with a push towards electronic data management, we are finding that our customers are very dependent on good quality internet connections for access to services at the very core of the farming industry.

"We still have ambitious plans for the growth and diversification of our business.

"However, without the support of reliable and stable broadband connections, our goals become ever more challenging."

Survey questionnaires will be sent out by direct mail, with residents also contacted by phone.

A phone number and website will also be available to enable people to participate in the survey at work, in their local library or elsewhere.

Cllr Hall's counterpart on Devon County Council, Cllr Will Mumford, said the issue was not just about businesses.

"Access to distance learning courses, local services, medical support and the kids doing their homework or using social media to keep in touch with friends or relatives all require significantly faster broadband than we have."

He said although the information on the demand was needed now, there would be a gap between the survey and the beginning of the scheme's roll-out because securing private sector partners would be a reasonably long process.

"But without everyone's participation, we can't make our case," he said.

"Somerset and Devon must have access to superfast broadband - we cannot be on the second or even third tier of connectivity.

"Superfast broadband is a modern utility, not a luxury."