Rural Broadband Some rights reserved by deBurca
The European Commission has ruled that a proposed UK support scheme for investing in rural and remote broadband is in line with state aid rules, following lobbying by the UK Culture Secretary Maria Miller and Conservative MEPs.
The UK wants to set up an umbrella scheme that would deliver around £1.5 billion to 140 broadband support schemes in areas where there is market failure in providing the much-needed high-speed connection.
Last week, Conservative MEPs met the Culture Secretary to discuss ways of moving approval of the scheme forward.
Senior Conservative MEP, Julie Girling, has been involved in securing funding for South West communities.
Julie said: “Finally we have secured approval from the EU for better broadband – the correct paperwork has been submitted and accepted from our Government.
“Our broadband infrastructure, particularly rural broadband, is in dire need of investment and the announcements of much needed funding cannot come soon enough.
“We can now get on with the job of delivering the network we need in order to grow our economy and support businesses of all size, particularly small rural businesses.”
(from a press release)
