news story

16th June 2009

South Gloucestershire Must not be Left in 'Slow Lane' on Information Super-Highway

Local MP Steve Webb has warned that the towns and villages of South Gloucestershire risk being left behind in the roll-out of new 'super-fast' broadband services following the publication of the Government's 'Digital Britain' report.

Under the Government's plans, people who cannot currently get broadband services - including significant pockets within South Gloucestershire - will be guaranteed a service of 2Mbps, but not until 2012. Meanwhile, around two thirds of Britain can expect to be connected to superfast optical fibre broadband services running at 50Mbps or more. The remaining one third will eventually be covered under a scheme where companies can bid for funds to connect up less profitable areas. But it is not yet clear how long this process will take, and people who are left with line speeds of perhaps one twenty-fifth of their neighbours will be seriously disadvantaged.

Commenting on the plans, Steve Webb said:

"Over coming years, access to high-speed broadband is going to become essential to people who want to work from home, study at home or enjoy the latest in entertainment. Businesses like BT and Virgin will have a commercial incentive to connect up major towns and cities with the latest technology, but up to a third of Britain, including many of the smaller towns and villages of South Gloucestershire, might not be considered profitable enough.

"Those areas will have to fight with other excluded areas for an early share of the Government's new funding to connect up the 'final third' of Britain. Without this funding, South Gloucestershire residents outside cabled areas risk being left in the slow lane on the 'information super-highway' ".

Steve Webb challenged Secretary of State Ben Bradshaw in the House of Commons about the plans. The MP asked whether a speed of 2Mbps by 2012 would really be adequate given the speed at which technology was advancing. In reply, the Minister said that this was considered to be the best value-for-money solution and pointed out that this speed would be enough to allow people to use the BBC's iPlayer software.

Speaking after the statement, Steve Webb said that he would be stepping up his campaigning to ensure that South Gloucestershire was not left behind when the promised improvements to broadband speeds were implemented.