Shoppers can help push the campaign for improved internet in Norfolk through a five-figure milestone this weekend by showing support at two sign-up events.

The EDP-backed Say Yes to Better Broadband campaign was last night only 200 short of 10,000 registrations in its drive to prove the economic demand for fibre-optic technology upgrades in Norfolk.

Two sign-up events are planned on Saturday where people can learn about the Norfolk County Council project and register their support.

The project team will be at the Vancouver Centre in King's Lynn from 10.30am to 2.30pm. Meanwhile, in Watton, councillors will target shoppers at Wayland Farmers' Market on High Street between 10am and midday.

Ann Steward, the council's cabinet member for economic development, said: 'This is set to be a big weekend for the Say Yes campaign. We're really hoping to hit the 10,000 sign-ups milestone, which would be no mean feat in just over seven weeks.

'So if you're fed up of being the poor cousins when it comes to internet access and speeds, please help us bring superfast broadband to you by saying yes now, and asking others to do the same. It really will help us attract the most competitive bids from potential private sector partners and make our money go further, in very real terms - the more yeses, the more Norfolk properties will get superfast broadband.'

Watton mayor Michael Wassell will join Mrs Steward to encourage market day shoppers to register, using the town's 17th-century clock tower as a focal point.

He said: 'Although Watton is a market town it is surrounded by rural villages, where broadband services are patchy at best.

'The clock tower was built in 1679 to house a bell to warn people if there was a fire, so there is quite a nice symmetry – 350 years ago we were using it to pass information about fires and now we are using it to shout about a completely different form of information distribution.'

nThe Better Broadband for Norfolk project hopes to bring superfast 30Mbps download speeds to as much of the county as possible by 2015. Norfolk residents and businesses can sign up at www.norfolk.gov.uk/sayyesnorfolk, or by calling 0344 800 8023.