Rural broadband set for £362m boost

Culture secretary says fund will ensure that 90% of hard-to-reach communities could have superfast broadband by 2015 Millions of Britons living in rural areas are set to benefit from faster internet speeds after the government allocated £362m to improve broadband connections in England, Scotland and Wales. Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, said on Tuesday that the fund would ensure that 90% of hard-to-reach communities with “painfully slow” internet speeds could have access to superfast broadband by 2015. Remote villages in areas of regions such as Cumbria and the Scottish Highlands where it is currently hard to load a simple web page, should be able to download or stream high-quality movies within four years. English counties will get £294m and Scotland £68.8m to bring high-speed internet to areas not catered for by the private sector. The allocations come out of the £530m “digital Britain” fund commitment by the chancellor, George Osborne, earlier this year. “I am absolutely determined that the UK will have the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015 – one that we all benefit from,” Hunt said. “Fast broadband is absolutely vital to our economic growth, to delivering public services effectively, and to conducting our everyday lives. “But some areas of the UK are missing out, with many rural and hard-to-reach communities suffering painfully slow internet connections or no coverage at all. We are not prepared to let some parts of our country get left behind in the digital age.” English councils and private enterprises will be put in charge of delivering the broadband rollout, with delivery plans and match-funding expected to be drawn up to set timetables. The Scottish government will determine how to allocate the money in Scotland. Hunt added: “The government is investing £530m of public money to help bring broadband to every home and business in the UK. We are doing our part – it is now up to local authorities and the Scottish government to do their bit, to get on board and work with us to secure the social and economic future of their communities.” “I urge all those suffering the frustration of slow internet connections to make it clear to your local elected representatives that you expect them to do what is needed to access this investment and to deliver broadband to your community.” Funding allocated by county in England Bedfordshire (Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton): £1,060,000 Berkshire (Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham): £1,430,000 Buckinghamshire (Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes): £2,100,000 Cambridgeshire (Cambridgeshire, Peterborough): £6,750,000 Cheshire (Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Warrington): £3,240,000 Cumbria (Cumbria): £17,130,000 Derbyshire (Derbyshire, Derby): £7,390,000 Devon and Somerset (Devon, Plymouth, Torbay, Somerset, North Somerset): £31,320,000 Dorset (Dorset, Bournemouth, Poole): £9,440,000 Durham (County Durham, Gateshead): £7,790,000 East Sussex (East Sussex, Brighton and Hove): £10,640,000 Essex (Essex, Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock): £6,460,000 Gloucestershire (Gloucestershire): £8,070,000 Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan): £990,000 Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton): £8,420,000 Herefordshire (County of Herefordshire): £6,350,000 Hertfordshire (Hertfordshire): £1,110,000 Humber (City Of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire): £8,540,000 (subject to revision) Kent (Kent, Medway): £9,870,000 Lancashire (Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool): £10,830,000 Leicestershire and Rutland (Leicestershire, Leicester, Rutland): £3,880,000 Lincolnshire (Lincolnshire): £14,310,000 Merseyside (Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral): £5,460,000 Norfolk (Norfolk): £15,440,000 Northamptonshire (Northamptonshire): £4,080,000 Northumberland (Northumberland): £7,030,000 North Yorkshire (North Yorkshire, York): £17,840,000 Nottinghamshire (Nottinghamshire, Nottingham): £4,250,000 Oxfordshire (Oxfordshire): £3,860,000 Shropshire (Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin): £8,210,000 Staffordshire (Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent): £7,440,000 Suffolk (Suffolk): £11,680,000 Surrey (Surrey): £1,310,000 Tees Valley (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees): £770,000 Tyne and Wear (Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland): £3,420,000 Warwickshire (Warwickshire, Coventry, Solihull): £4,070,000 West of England (Bath and North East Somerset, City of Bristol, South Gloucestershire): £1,430,000 West Midlands (Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton): £630,000 West Sussex (West Sussex): £6,260,000 West Yorkshire (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield): £6,340,000 Wiltshire (Wiltshire, Swindon): £4,900,000 Worcestershire (Worcestershire): £3,350,000 •

Posted by on August 16, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.