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Written question asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 3 March 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 17 March 2015. It was answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Conservative) on Thursday, 12 March 2015 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to roll out superfast broadband to rural areas of the United Kingdom.

Answer

On 9 February 2015 the Government announced that 2 million premises have been passed by its Superfast Broadband Programme, meaning that superfast broadband is now available to almost 80% of UK premises, up from 45% in 2010. The Government funding is supporting further investment by the private sector to ensure that the benefits of better broadband are extended as widely as possible.

Through over 50 local projects the Government, Local Authorities and Devolved Administrations are investing over £1.7 billion in improving broadband. The Superfast Broadband Programme is being delivered in three phases:

· Phase 1 (formerly known as the Rural Broadband Programme) aims to provide superfast broadband coverage to 90% of UK homes and businesses by early 2016 and provide access to standard broadband (2Mbps) for all

· Phase 2 aims to provide superfast broadband coverage to 95% of the UK by 2017

· Phase 3 is testing options to roll-out superfast broadband beyond 95%

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL5393
Session
2014-15
Subjects
Broadband Rural areas
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk