Kent to get £9m rural broadband boost
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Kent is set to
get nearly £10m of government cash - but only if it stumps up
£32m!
The money is part of the Government's drive to ensure 90 per
cent of British homes and businesses have access to superfast
broadband by 2015.
Nationally, rural and hard-to-reach areas have been allocated
£362m to improve their broadband connections.
But Kent's handout will only be given if the county forks out
millions from its own coffers.
Earlier this year Kent put in a bid to government for £42m.
That was what it said it needed to reach the 90 per cent
government target.
But, according to Kent County Council officials, it will only
get the government's share if it comes up with the rest.
Kevin Lynes, KCC cabinet member for regeneration, said the only
way the authority could provide such a sum was to work closely with
Kent businesses.
He added: "What we need to do is show the government where
the rest of that money is coming from.
"Typically the thinking is that the private sector will invest a
reasonable percentage, in some cases up to half. Some local
authorities are also starting to invest, some are borrowing to
be able to put that money in."
Earlier this year one Kent village was singled out as having the
slowest internet speeds in the UK.
In a study by broadband comparison site Top10.com, the picture
postcard village of Farningham notched up speeds of a paltry
1.3Mb.
That means it would take a staggering 12 hours to download just
one movie from the web.
Farningham's broadband speeds are so slow, according to the
survey, even remote Scottish border town Duns and the small village
of Pentre in the Rhondda valleys of Wales have faster internet
speeds.
The results were based on nearly 100,000 speed tests taken
across the UK between August and October.
Tuesday, August 16 2011
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