§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evaluation she has made of the initiative between British Telecom and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to extend broadband coverage; and how she intends promoting similar initiatives to other remote and rural areas within the UK. [84966]
§ Mr. TimmsHighlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) are involved in the Exchange Activate trial being run by BT across the UK, including at two exchanges near Inverness. This is due to run until next spring, so no evaluation has been carried out as yet. If the initiative is successful, HIE will be keen to see this approach applied more widely in the area.
A wider range of initiatives is also underway in the Highlands and Islands to increase broadband access. These include a pilot of aggregated public sector procurement and projects under the UK Broadband Fund, such as a major wireless trial in the Western Isles, a powerline carrier trial in Campbeltown, and a demand stimulation scheme based on road shows and demonstration centres.
The UK Broadband Task Force, established in November, will find and disseminate exemplars of best practice around the country, including to rural and remote areas and by so doing stimulate the further roll out of broadband.
§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 26 November 2002,Official Report, column 228W, on priority areas how many (a) hospitals, (b) GP surgeries, (c) schools, (d) police stations, (e) local authority agencies and (f) other public sector places will SEEDA be upgrading to broadband in the Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency; and how much of the SEEDA Broadband fund (i) has been and (ii) will be spent in Sittingbourne and Sheppey. [85002]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 3 December 2002]: SEEDA does not maintain data at this level. SEEDA's broadband fund has been allocated to projects that provide benefits to the region and there is no detailed breakdown of the amount of funding that has been spent specifically in Sittingbourne and Sheppey.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance her Department has made available to UK businesses to enable them to access broadband via satellite technology. [85107]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Department of Trade and Industry has made available £30 million to the RDAs and Devolved Administrations for pilot projects to extend broadband access. Several of the recipients have used this fund to enable small businesses to access broadband via satellite technology. For example, the South West 65W Development Agency, East Midlands, Development Agency, East of England Development Agency and Advantage West Midlands are collaborating in the Remote Area Broadband Inclusion Trials (RABIT) programme to trial alternative broadband Internet access to small businesses in rural areas using wireless and satellite. The scheme has been operating since September 2002. Some £700 is made available to each company. By the beginning of December, 264 applications had been approved, of which 75 per cent. to 80 per cent. involve satellite trials. About 1,800 to 2,000 companies are expected to participate in the programme to December 2003.