Government accused of 'scaling back' urban broadband plans

[dutchman]

The government has been accused of failing to deliver its promise to boost urban broadband speeds.



The Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA) hit out at the coalition after it was announced that funding raised for the initiative would instead be spent on vouchers that small businesses can use to pay for installing faster broadband.

INCA said that the government is "scaling back" its proposals and offering a "watered down" version of what it had originally promised.

Last year, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt pledged to develop Britain into Europe's fastest broadband nation, and designated funding was set aside to improve network services across the country.

However, as of March many councils in England were yet to have benefited from the £150 million investment.

The coalition has responded to its critics by saying that the public will still benefit from features of the original plan, such as an increase in WiFi hotspots and other services.

"The voucher scheme is only one element of the super-connected cities programme, and certainly does not represent a scaling down," a spokesperson from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) told BBC News.

"The Urban Broadband Fund will be invested in a range of high-speed broadband projects that enhance business connectivity, drive economic growth and improve wireless coverage."

The government originally pledged to deliver "ultra-fast broadband" to 1.7 million homes and 200,000 businesses in urban areas, as well as high-speed wireless broadband to three million residents.

[dutchman]

I discovered by accident that if you replace a DSL modem with a more modern DSL2 modem you can often get almost double your previous download speed even if you have not yet officially signed-up for a DSL2 connection!