§ Mrs. Iris Robinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will press BT to decrease the threshold numbers required for the instalment of Broadband in rural areas. [131780]
§ Mr. Timms:Decisions about whether to reduce further the threshold numbers for activating exchanges are a matter for BT. The Government welcomes the reductions that have already been announced in recent months.
§ Norman Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list those areas in the Lewes constituency capable of accessing broadband; to which areas there are plans to extend such a capability; and on what dates. [131827]
§ Mr. Timms:This information is not currently held centrally within Government.
However, BT's website (www.bt.com) includes a list of exchanges in the Lewes and the South East region showing which exchanges are already enabled for Broadband or are planned to be enabled with ready for service dates, which have trigger levels set and which do not.
The local Regional Development Agency—South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA), have recently invited tenders for their Coastal Superhighway Programme. As a result of this programme, a new internet point of presence from a fibre optic network will be built in Lewes, which should improve the availability of broadband services in Lewes, by reducing the cost of backhaul and stimulating competition.
In addition, any enterprises in the Lewes area and indeed the whole of the South East region, which cannot receive broadband from BT or from any other telecom or cable companies, may apply for a SEEDA satellite grant (http://www.rabbit-broadband.org.uk/)of up to £700, which covers an installation fee to contribute for the cost of a satellite broadband service.
§ Mr. Ruffley:To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the proportion of the population in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk, (c) Essex, (d) Cambridgeshire and (e) the UK who are unable to access broadband. [131839]
§ Mr. Timms:The latest available data (June 2003) forecasts that, in October 2003, the proportions of the population who are unable to access broadband are:
Percentage (a) Suffolk 53 (b) Norfolk 57 (c) Essex 23 (d) Cambridgeshire 45 (e) UK 120 1all broadband technologies
Note:
The data for figures a-d is only available for ADSL broadband
142WThe recent East of England Development Agency 'Connecting Communities Competition' has introduced significant use of wireless solutions and should significantly improve broadband access in the region.