UK e-Minister Patricia Hewitt and e-Envoy Andrew Pinder yesterday
launched the Government's new strategy which it hopes will help
remove the urban/rural divide and give better access to broadband
internet services.
The report, entitled "UK online: the broadband future," outlines an
action plan to help drive forward broadband networks across the UK
which promise providing faster, cheaper, always-on access to
on-line services.
A key milestone for the Government's “UK online” initiative, the
new strategy supports the Government's objective of achieving
universal access to the internet by 2005. It is also a cornerstone
of the Government's wider drive to develop the UK as a leading
knowledge economy, as set out in the White Paper on Enterprise,
Skills and Innovation being published today.
Ms Hewitt said:
“We do not want a nation of have-nets and
have-nots. We are therefore announcing a new £30 million fund to
help ensure that a digital divide in high speed Internet access
does not open up between urban and rural communities."
According to the Government, recent research from the US shows
that consumers with broadband spend four times as long on-line and
engage in a wider range of e-commerce activities than those with
traditional narrowband connections.
The research also shows that small firms are twice as likely to
trade on-line if they have higher bandwidth connections.
The report “UK online: The broadband future” is available at
www.e-envoy.gov.uk.
