[public service] Broadband has not been receiving enough money, despite another wave of funding from the Chancellor in early March, the Cloud Industry Forum has warned.
Andy Burton, who chairs the forum, said UK economic recovery would be impeded unless regional broadband coverage was improved.
He welcomed commitment and investment being made by the government but added that "the level of funding was insufficient to meet the legacy of need across the country".
Burton said small to medium sized businesses were being hampered by poor internet speeds, meaning that they could not take advantage of emerging technologies like cloud computing, ultimately hindering the UK's competitiveness.
"We cannot afford to give away our opportunity to thrive in a digital age by failing to provide the infrastructure that can harness our tremendous UK entrepreneurial capability," he said.
Burton added: "If as a nation we are going to grow out of our current financial crisis business up and down the land need to be able to operate, compete and create wealth and this can only effectively be done from a level playing field where internet connectivity is concerned."
The government has pledged to spend hundreds of millions on developing superfast broadband during the current spending review period.
£50m of this funding was allocated to "local people" and local authorities by Osborne on 4 March, with other broadband pilots announced earlier in October for North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Herefordshire and the Highlands and Islands. However, concern was expressed that despite the announced funding, no businesses or technologies have yet been chosen for the areas.
Government broadband funds 'insufficient'
See also Cloud Industry Forum
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment