Superfast broadband gets �530m pledge in spending review

North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Herefordshire and Highlands and Islands to benefit, with �300m redirected from BBC licence feeNorth Yorkshire, Cumbria, Herefordshire and the Highlands and islands will all benefit from a �530m investment in superfast broadband, pledged by the government in its comprehensive spending review. The money will be injected over the next four years, and include �300m redirected from the BBC licence fee.In North Yorkshire, the 'rural market testing project' will see superfast broadband running up to 50 times faster than conventional broadband by using fibre-optic cable, introduced in up to 27 market towns where broadband provision was previously considered economically unviable. Around 11,400 businesses and 220,000 people are expected to benefit.The project is being run by Broadband Delivery UK, a government organisation with the task of ensuring broadband access to the whole of the UK by 2012, and high-speed broadband to the majority of the country by 2017.Around 2m households should benefit from the scheme.The problem with getting high-speed broadband to remote parts of the country is that more distance has to be covered, replacing existing copper wires with optical fibre, to reach the same number of people as in a city. That makes the "final third" of the population uneconomic without subsidies or high prices.Of the decision, the chancellor George Osborne said: "It will help encourage the growth of our creative industries as a key part of the new economy we are seeking to build."David Cullen, chief executive of NYNet, the North Yorkshire network, said: "The geography and demographic makeup of North Yorkshire represents a typical 'final third' area and the project will provide a valuable testing ground that will assist the government in providing broadband access to the whole of the UK."BT has already said it will seek to roll out fibre optic services across Cornwall, helped by EU funding.The telecoms company also set up a "competition" to get rural areas to bid against each other to be first in the queue for fibre optic rollout. However that requires more than 1,000 votes for consideration ? which for many rural areas could be difficult to achieve.The government also revealed that it will hold spectrum auctions for next-generation mobile broadband in either 2011 or 2012. Those could be used for mobile broadband services, though it is not clear whether they would be best for "fixed" mobile users ? essentially, to homes and businesses using antennae ? or for users in transit.BroadbandInternetBBCBBC licence feeSpending review 2010Tax and spendingDigital mediaCharles Arthurguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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