§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Department is taking to ensure that broadband is made available more widely to the rural community. [147915]
§ Mr. TimmsIn England, the Broadband Aggregation Project will make sure that the £1 billion Government spend on broadband connectivity for the public sector between 2003 and 2006 will offer the best value for money and widen availability to surrounding communities.
DTI is working with the Devolved Administrations and Regional Development Agencies to extend the availability of broadband still further. We have given them £30 million for pilot schemes to extend the availability of broadband in areas not currently served by the market.
A joint DTI/Defra Rural Broadband Team has been set up specifically to address the issue of availability of broadband in rural areas. It is working to support local community action to secure affordable access to broadband, to ensure rural communities derive the maximum benefit from the deployment of broadband and promote rural access and take up of broadband. Promoting partnerships between the telecommunications industry, government agencies and community organizations, our aim is that every community in the country should have access to broadband by the end of next year.