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We are making good progress towards our target of ensuring the UK has the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015, with 90% of households having access to superfast broadband and a good level of service at 2Mbps for everyone. 24 local broadband plans (over 50%) have been approved and we expect all plans will be approved by the target date of April 2012, and we have set a target for all broadband procurements to be completed by the end of 2012 so that delivery can be complete by 2015. In addition, we are investing £150 million to deliver ultra-fast broadband to up to 20 cities, with the first 10 cities announced in the Budget last week, 21 March 2012, Official Report, columns 793-808. We want the UK to become the technology hub of Europe, and a good communications infrastructure is vital to the growth of the economy. While we do not have figures at a regional level, there is a growing body of evidence of the impact of better networks on the economy. McKinsey report that the digital economy accounts for 23% of all growth and Boston Consulting Group last week estimated that internet-driven business made up 8.3% of the UK's economy, rising to 12.6% by 2016. |