Chancellor provides extra funding for UK broadband expansion
29 Nov 2011
Chancellor George Osborne has announced a £100m boost to the UK's high-speed broadband infrastructure in today's autumn statement.
The money is to be spent improving broadband coverage in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff. A further six cities will be added to the list later.
"It means creating new superfast digital networks for companies across our country. These do not exist today. See what countries like China or Brazil are building, and you'll also see why we risk falling behind the rest of the world," the Chancellor said.
The plan is to create a hub of super-fast cities with broadband speeds of between 80 to 100Mbps (megabits per second) and city-wide high-speed mobile connectivity.
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Comments
Dear Big etc,
But these people do not 'live in the middle of nowhere' and they number considerably more than 'a few people'. If money was distributed elsewhere there could be more areas of economic activity, thus benefiting the whole country.
Why would you want to support the idea and reality of giving plenty more to those that have plenty at the expense of those who have little or nothing? Also, did you choose to live in the street that you do and if so does that not disqualify you from moaning about having poor internet? It would seem so by this post.
OK. let's spend the extra 100 million on supplying a few people who live in the middle of nowhere (by choice), rather than the economic centres of this country.
I'm sure everyone (in these difficult timts) would support that wouldn't they?
Dear Big etc,
The most striking part of your comment for me is 'my street'. There are parts of this rather small country of ours running to thousands of acres where there is no/hopeless broadband. Areas where people would like to work and start businesses fit for the 21st century, where they would like to have the same quality of life and opportunities that our taxes are supposed to support. This money is TAXPAYER money, OUR money and it should be used to support areas that miss out. The main centres will get commercial private investment to boost speed and access.
They've obviously picked the most commercially important city of the 4 countries of the UK, so understandable IMO.
Also, living in a city doesn't always mean fast broadband, I live in a city and have slower broadband speed than when I lived in a small countryside town. 0.8 to be exact, so slow that my street made it in to the top 50 slowest broadband streets in the whole of the UK.
Leamington Spa, a small countryside town, actually has the quickest average speeds, so maybe London etc needs faster broadband.
Agreed. People we put in charge, again, get it completely wrong. Idiots.
Yet again money going to areas that already have fast broadband. Nice to know that money from areas where there is no/pathetic connection is going somewhere where they have excellent/good connection. The balance of life in the dear old uk is thus maintained. Hip hip hoorah.