An extra £3.84 million of government money for superfast broadband will help business start-ups and job creation in some of Lancashire's hardest to reach rural areas, Culture Secretary Maria Miller announced today.
The nationwide rollout is a key part of the government’s long-term economic plan to secure Britain’s future by providing better access to superfast broadband, and in allocating funding the Government has worked to ensure as many families and businesses as possible benefit.
Local projects in the North West will now receive additional funding from a £250 million pot, with the hardest to reach locations amongst those who stand to benefit most. This funding is in addition to the £1.2 billion already invested by central and local government and will ensure 95% of UK homes and businesses have access to superfast broadband by 2017.
The current rural programme will deliver returns of £20 for every £1 invested, representing tremendous value for money. As well as improvements in the productivity of broadband- firms, faster broadband will create an additional 56,000 jobs in the UK by 2024.
The work involved in the current rollout is expected to provide a £1.5 billion boost to local economies, with approximately 35,000 job-years created or safeguarded over the period to 2016. By 2024, the Government’s current investments in faster broadband will be boosting rural economies by £275 million every month, or around £9 million every day.
Over 10,000 homes and businesses are now gaining access each week, with this figure expected to reach 40,000 per week by summer this year. There are strong economic growth and efficiency reasons why local authorities should contribute towards to the cost of rolling out superfast broadband, and the additional £250 million will be awarded on a match funding basis.
Superfast broadband allows families to use multiple devices simultaneously, so while parents are streaming a movie or their favourite television programme, the kids can be uploading photos and videos to social media sites whilst downloading the latest track from their favourite artist. Businesses also stand to benefit hugely from the roll out, which will facilitate video conferencing, boost processing power and increasing productivity.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller told QLocal: “Superfast Broadband will benefit everyone in the North West – whether they need it for work, to do homework or simply to download music or films. Thousands of homes and businesses now have access and it is helping people with their everyday tasks.
“We want to make sure that Britain is one of the best countries in the world for broadband, and the extra £250 million we are investing will help ensure communities around the UK are not left behind in the digital slow lane.”
For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk; a Google map showing the progress of current superfast broadband projects in the NW is available at http://bit.ly/HV5M1n. - See more at: http://www.qlocal.co.uk/ormskirk/news_list/Taking_superfast_broadband_f…