NATIONWIDE SUPERFAST BROADBAND!

New media and IT have been at the heart of the economic development in Brighton and Hove during the past decade.
So I very much welcome new proposals as part of our plans to Get Britain Growing, plans to help make the UK the first major European country that has superfast broadband in the majority of homes by 2017.
Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has said "we are currently one of the slowest countries in the developed world for broadband", but with the Conservatives "we'll become one of the fastest".
He said Britain's digital and creative industries "must have a proper communications infrastructure" if we are to become "world beaters".
The Conservative approach to achieving this has three key components:
• Creating a regulatory framework to ensure the roll-out of superfast broadband at speeds of up to 100mbps to the majority of homes across the UK by 2017. Our objective is to make the UK the first major European country to achieve this aim, securing its place as a European and global hub for the creative industries.
• We will end BT’s local loop monopoly by allowing other operators to use their ducts and poles thereby encouraging competition in the superfast broadband market.
• We are committed to universal access to superfast broadband speeds. If the market does not deliver this in certain areas we will consider using the proportion of the licence fee dedicated to digital switchover to finance superfast broadband roll out under the new BBC licence fee settlement, Under these plans, Hunt said that "high speeds will be available not just in our cities but across the rural areas that have been left behind for too long".
Jeremy Hunt added "these regulatory changes will create the right conditions for sustainable growth and ensure that the digital sector plays a leading role in a competitive, balanced economy”
This is so important for the development of employment in Brighton. I am very excited about these proposals.