The
government is to spend £300m on laptops and broadband connections
for poor households in England in an effort to bridge the
digital divide.
Prime minister Gordon Brown told the Labour Party conference
this would bring the internet to a million more families.
"We will fund over a million extra families to get online, on
the way to our ambition of Britain leading the world with more of
our people than any other major economy able to access the internet
and broadband," he said.
The programme will work through local authorities with a pilot
starting in November 2008 and a full roll-out a year from now.
Families on income support or unemployment benefits will be able to
apply for a "Home Access" grant to buy a package from accredited
suppliers. The programme aims for universal home access by
2011.
Schools minister Jim Knight said, "It is unacceptable that the
digital divide is growing with 35% of families having no access to
the internet and about a million children having no computer at
home."
The initial Home Access package includes:
• broadband for all young people between seven and 19-years-old
whose families are eligible
• a free laptop or other computer with relevant software and
hardware bought with a "Home Access" voucher, and
• support covering important areas such as internet safety,
effective use of technology for learning and a technical support
helpline.
The move follows a government taskforce created in 2007 to
explore home broadband access for school-age children, which
included Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Dell, BT Retail, O2, BSkyB and
Intel.
Its
recommendations are the basis for the government's announcement
today.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has yet to
choose suppliers for the project.
Francesco Caio, who last week
reported to government on barriers to investment in broadband
networks, reported UK broadband penetration is among the highest in
Europe, with 58% of households, or some 80% of those households
with a PC subscribing to broadband. He noted that 87% of households
have digital TV.