Blair pledges £1bn for broadband

[bongme]

hi

Tuesday, 19 November, 2002

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised to give every school, university, hospital and doctors' surgery a high-speed link to the internet.

At present many public services connect to the web through a telephone line, but the government wants more access to the broadband connections.

The government is spending more than £1bn in providing high-speed links for public services over the next four years.

The prime minister, speaking at an internet summit in London, said that the move was crucial to the success of the British economy.

"Britain has the potential to become a technological powerhouse," he said.

He also unveiled a government report showing that the UK was the second best place in the world to do e-business after the US.

Much work needed to extend reach of broadband, says new report

The UK has come in for criticism for its slow rollout of broadband and for setting unrealistic targets for both high-speed internet access and getting government services online.

Promoting broadband

In his address, Mr Blair stressed the importance of improving access to high-speed internet connections.

"We're doing well, but not well enough," he admitted. "Access to this technology has to be universal."

Mr Blair outlined a future where pupils would be able to use broadband video streaming in lessons, ambulance crews would be able to access patients' medical records on the spot and GPs to send prescriptions to chemists electronically.

"I consider the question of how we harness the potential of technological change, alongside the related question of science, to be the fundamental economic and social challenge of our future," he said.

"What we do with information technology and how we use it will determine our success industrially and as a society for years to come."

Boosting broadband

Telecoms giant BT is expected to announce a further roll-out of broadband services to rural areas and towns currently cut off from high-speed internet services.

There has been pressure on BT from the government to increase the reach of broadband.

Some industry insiders expect the telecoms company to offer broadband to as much as 88% of the population.

That would be a radical change from the 66% that can currently get it.

BT is also expected to announce new ways to convince consumers, many of whom are unsure of why they need to upgrade, to make the shift.

This could include making video e-mail available to BT Openworld customers.

E-ambitions

Speakers at the meeting include the e-Envoy Andrew Pinder, who has been charged with getting government services online and connecting citizens to the internet, as well as Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt.

Government bodies from around the world have been invited to share ideas about how best to connect citizens to the internet.

Ministers aim to make Britain the best place for e-commerce and broadband by 2005 and get all government services online by the same time.

A series of reports have suggested that the UK is slow man of Europe when it comes to broadband.

The latest, by the government-appointed Broadband Stakeholders Group, has found that much work still needs to be doneto extend the range of high-speed internet services.

There have also been studies suggesting that government websites are difficult to navigate and offer little incentive for citizens to use them.

Bongme