Spending review survival
The rollout of next generation broadband is one of the few areas to survive the government's sweeping cuts of £83bn as part of its spending review.
In fact, it has announced a trial of super-fast broadband in Herefordshire, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and the Highlands will be part financed by the BBC, which will fork out £300m of the £530m cost. The rest of the cash will come from the digital switch-over budget, the BBC reported.
It is thought the scheme will benefit around 2m households out in the wilderness that currently cope will dial-up speeds.
Chancellor George Osbourne reportedly said: "It will help encourage the growth of our creative industries as a key part of the new economy we are seeking to build."
Experts estimate around a third of the UK is without super-fast broadband, mainly because it is not economically worthwhile for companies to expand services to remote rural areas.
However, it was recently suggested that a scheme by BT to roll out fibre broadband to rural Cornwall, which received support from the EU, could serve as a blueprint of how to expand quicker web services to sparsely populated areas.
BT has also launched a competition where communities can gather votes to be considered for speedy broadband, with the five most popular getting the service. While its sounds like a great idea in theory, the competition has attracted some criticism as it will only consider and offer help to areas that have gathered over 1,000 votes, which could rule out some small villages.
Dr Charles Trotman, chairman of the Final Third First campaign reportedly warned the competition could create a ‘digital divide'.
He told the BBC: "Where do you find an exchange with a thousand people in a rural area? It is a good initiative but it has to be rethought or it will add to the urban/rural digital divide."
