British e-minister Patricia Hewitt, will tomorrow outline plans to bridge the so-called "digital divide", which could lead to some 40 per cent of the British population being excluded from high-speed internet access.
The Government will invite consultants to produce a study looking at ways of spanning the divide, created because it is unprofitable for telecoms companies to provide new broadband services in rural areas.
Ms Hewitt said: "High-speed internet connections will be as important to our economy as modern roads and railways. In the aftermath of foot and mouth disease, broadband connections could play a crucial role in helping to revitalise rural economies in hard-hit areas such as Devon, Cornwall and Cumbria."
One plan under review is to "bundle up" public sector contracts for broadband services which could come from schools, libraries, doctors' surgeries, hospitals and police stations making them more attractive to telecoms companies because of their combined size. The work is being led by the Office of the e-Envoy, a Cabinet Office unit, headed by Andrew Pinder.
The problems of the digital divide first surfaced last September in an internal BT report which identified dozens of broadband "dead zones", including Cornwall, Wales, the North-east, the North-west, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is estimated that the divide could affect up to 23 million people.
John Fisher, chief executive of the internet lobby group Citizens Online, gave a cautious welcome to the the initiative, adding: "Appointing consultants is all well and good, but we need to see productive work."
- INDEPENDENT
British minister launches plan to bridge 'digital divide'
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.