In UK, rural broadband rollout to miss deadline

The UK government has admitted that the much-criticized rural broadband program will miss its timetable and has appeared to scale back its investment in the process by about £50 million.

Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, said superfast broadband services would reach 95 percent of the population by 2017, two years after an original target of reaching 90 percent by 2015. The government proposals now say “nearly 90 percent” will be reached by 2015. The government will invest up to £250 million more in rural broadband after 2015 on top of the £530 million already committed. But opposition Members of Parliament attacked the announcement, saying it fell short of the £300 million promised under original plans drawn up in 2010. The funds are needed to subsidize the rollout of broadband networks to far-flung parts of the country that would otherwise be ignored by the private sector.