Jeremy Hunt

On the 8 June, Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, gave the first indications of what broadband will look like under the new coalition government.

One element in his speech that Shaping Norfolk's Future and partners have picked up on is the announcement of three market testing projects that will bring superfast broadband to rural and hard-to-reach areas.

SNF and partners have written a letter to Jeremy Hunt in response to this announcement, asking that one of the pilots take place in Norfolk.

The letter builds up a business case detailing the rurality of Norfolk, deprivation issues, the lack of investment by private companies in the county so far but also the opportunities and benefits that having broadband would bring to a growing and enterprising county.

If you would like to add your support to this lobbying effort then please email your name and business to: info@broadbandnorfolk.com

Key parts of his speech included:

It is a scandal that nearly 3 million households in this country still cannot access 2 Mbps broadband speeds, and less than 1% of the country is able to access the internet using modern fibre optic technology – compared to an OECD average of around 10%.

Of course there are significant costs involved [in delivering next generation broadband], and wherever possible the market should lead the way, which is why we warmly welcome BT’s announcement to invest a further £1 billion in upgrading its network to reach two-thirds of the population is very welcome.

But I have always recognised that there has to be a role for government as well as the market.

Both in driving up demand for broadband by putting as many services as possible online.

And also... [the]... government must ensure we do not open up a new digital divide between the urban areas most attractive to infrastructure providers and rural communities where superfast broadband may never be viable.

So today I am announcing a first series of actions that will lead to the UK having a broadband infrastructure that meets the needs of all its citizens and businesses, and that will stand comparison with anywhere in the world. 

[T]he government supports the commitment to ensure a universal service level of 2Mbps as the very minimum that should be available. We will use a proportion of the underspend on digital switchover to fund this.

Secondly, I am announcing 3 market testing projects that will bring superfast broadband to rural and hard-to-reach areas.

These are projects that will not only benefit those living in these areas, but that will provide us with vital information about how we can best target government intervention and make next generation broadband viable in even the most challenging areas.

Broadband Delivery UK – the organisation which will be the delivery vehicle for these policies and accountable to me – will hold an industry event on 15th July to provide further details, and to describe how the procurement of these testing projects will be achieved.