Broadband ‘at the heart’ of government agenda

Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, has recently assured attendees at a conference that broadband is still ‘at the heart’ of the government’s growth agenda.

Attendees at a recent conference in Suffolk were reassured by the communications minister Ed Vaizey about how important broadband improvement in the UK was to the government. Vaizey was speaking about the progress of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) at the Broadband in Suffolk Conference when he told attendees that broadband was ‘still at the heart’ of government agenda.

Vaizey said that whilst the government had pledged millions of pounds towards the rollout of the broadband infrastructure it would be the private sector that would need to take the lead in this area so that goals could be achieved in the UK. He said: “We firmly believe that the market and private industry is best placed to give consumers and business the infrastructure and services they want and need.”

However, despite the assurances of the minister and various other government officials there are many that are not convinced about the plans and believe that the level of funding will not be adequate to meet the needs of businesses in the UK when it comes to broadband needs.

One official from the Cloud Industry Forum said: “Despite announcing four areas in October – North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Herefordshire and the Highlands and Islands – no firm or technologies have yet been chosen for the areas, which suggests that it will be some time before this initiative is fully under way.”

Do you agree that the broadband initiative could take far longer than anticipated? Let us know with your comments.

Source – Public Service