ISPs want to increase the number of people getting online

Two well known Internet service providers have joined a number of other bodies that are working towards increasing the number of people that are getting online in the UK through a new initiative.

It has been announced that a number of bodies are getting involved in a new initiative that is designed to increase the number of people that are getting online, and amongst the bodies that are getting involved in the initiative are the well known communications and broadband giants BT and Talk Talk. The providers have given their support to the new initiative, which is known as Race Online 2012.

According to reports there are around ten million people in the UK who have never used the Internet for one reason or another, ranging from having little or no access to broadband or PCs through to simply being disinterested or too fearful of going online. The aim of the Race Online 2012 project is to get as many of these ten million people as possible online within the next two or three years.

Both BT and Talk Talk have put plans in place to try and increase the number of people that are getting online through the new initiative. BT has plans to try and get at least one hundred thousand people that do not currently use the Internet online, and the communications giant plans to do this by asking both staff members and customers to promote web usage through partnering with various agencies and charities such as Age UK.

Talk Talk is taking a slightly different approach, but also hopes to be able to get around one hundred thousand people online through offering training through support centres and then offering discounted broadband services to those that complete the training. The UK’s, Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox, stated: “The Race Online 2012 ambition will create profound social and economic change and will mark a step change for the country as a whole.”

Source – Cable