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3UK culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has spoken on his ambition to make the UK have the fastest broadband network of any European country by 2015.
The move comes in an attempt to boost media sectors and give access to more people around the UK. From his initial plan, Hunt aimed to provide the best network defined as a combination of speed, coverage, choice and price. The coverage of this will be monitored by Ofcom.
Jeremy Hunt aims to make the UK the fastest broadband network in Europe by 2015.
The UK excels in creative industries such as television, music and video games and is proud to have the world’s largest independent television sector and the second largest music exporter.
Britain is currently ranked 15th in the European speed league table, behind countries such as Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, but ahead of France, Italy and Spain.
Despite the high ambition to boost media industries, the plan has come under fire by some Labour MPs, with Labour culture spokeswoman, Helen Goodman explaining the proposed move prioritised speed over access.
Hunt retorted by saying, “Getting the plumbing right for our digital economy is not just an advantage to consumers – it is also essential for our digital and creative industries, all of whom need reliable high-speed networks to develop and export their products as they move large digital files around the world”.
To further the plans of becoming the Europeans fastest internet network, the UK also plans to provide super-fast broadband to 90% of the country – defined as 24mb – and 10% on no less that 2mb.