Invest in broadband, MPs urge Chancellor
MPs have made a plea to the Chancellor for him to invest in broadband as he prepares to make his Autumn Statement.
On Wednesday 25 November George Osborne will make his joint Spending Review and Autumn Statement announcements, which will outline the Government's five-year spending plan and budgets for different departments. It will also highlight some of the major investments the Government is going to make over this next parliament.
More than 100 MPs have come together to ask the Chancellor to invest in broadband. Many of these politicians represent parts of the UK that are currently under served by broadband providers, which means the speeds that their area's businesses and residents can access is well below what is required - typically these are remote, hard-to-reach areas.
One such example is Dumfries and Galloway MP Richard Arkless, who has stated that without investment in better broadband in South West Scotland, businesses will be disadvantaged. He explained: "Without broadband access at the standard expected for 2015 and for the future, we run [the] risk of losing our edge in keeping these important assets to our economy."
The MPs have written an open letter to put their case forward to Mr Osborne. They want an emphasis on additional funding for fixed and mobile broadband as part of the Spending Review.
The letter to the Chancellor reads: "We urge you to consider the importance of continued state investment in both mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure as part of the Spending Review, so that the digital divide does not widen and deepen, and so that we can provide the same digital opportunities to everyone in the UK, regardless of where they live."
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