§ Mr. Ian StewartTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how much(a) EU and (b) other public funds were given to the Cable and Wireless cable modem trial in Greater Manchester; what consultation Cable and Wireless had with the Government about the termination of the trial; and what assessment she has made of the future of the cable modem trial. [40560]
§ Mrs. RocheNo EU or other public funds were used for the Cable and Wireless modem trial. Cable and Wireless funded the project in the normal course of commercial and technical development and they will evaluate the project's results. Two other, earlier, multi-media projects in the area using Framework IV and EU funds have utilised in part the Cable and Wireless network, but no public funds have been given to the Company themselves in this context.