§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
Given the comments of the e-commerce Minister at the Revolution at the Edge: Broadband Networks and Innovation conference, what level of importance they attach to installation of fibre networks capable of carrying high-speed broadband. [HL1044]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)The Government attach great importance to creating an extensive and competitive market in the provision of broadband services using a variety of technologies. We expect that there will be an increasing demand for faster and more symmetrical services over the next few years and that increased investment in fibre-optic networks is likely to be one of the outcomes of this progress in the market. Decisions on where and when networks will be deployed will be predominantly for the market. However, the Government will continue to encourage investment where they can; for example, aggregating the demand for public sector connectivity through the Broadband Aggregation Programme will create fresh opportunities for further investment by industry in infrastructure for high speed broadband.