Reliable broadband should be seen as a fundamental human right according to a network builder which has put its weight behind a campaign to kickstart the East's economy.
A "Herculean" effort to improve internet connection speeds will see 100 more villages across East Anglia given access to full-fibre broadband - thanks to a £46million investment by Aviva.
BBC News
Published
image captionThere are still places throughout the UK without adequate coverage
The UK will fail to achieve a target of offering gigabit-capable broadband to 85% of the UK by 2025, MPs have warned.
Initially, the government had aimed for nationwide coverage within five years.
But targets were scaled back when it emerged that only 25% of the promised £5bn funding would be available.
The Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said the cuts, paired with a lack of effective planning meant the UK could end up playing catch-up to other countries.
The report said there was no genuine belief from within the sector that the government s current goals were possible within its current timeframe.
Next steps in Government’s £5 billion gigabit broadband plan
The government has today set out the next steps in its £5 billion strategy to deliver next generation, gigabit-capable broadband to the entire country.
From:
22 December 2020
A consultation has been launched on the draft procurement strategy for the UK Gigabit Programme setting out plans to connect the first one million homes and businesses with gigabit speed broadband and maximise coverage in the hardest to reach 20% of the UK by 2025.
Homes and businesses that do not yet have access to superfast broadband will be prioritised. Their speeds will rocket from less than 30 megabits per second to more than 1,000 megabits per second, or one gigabit per second.