Letter from Stephen Timms MP, Minister for E-commerce and Competitiveness
26th February 2003

Dear George

Thank you for your letter of 7 January 2002 in which you requested further information about the "what, how and when" of the opportunities created by the Government to arrange for all schools and doctors' surgeries to have broadband Internet connections by 2006. You also mentioned a possible disparity in the provision of broadband services delivering 2Mbps and higher to urban areas, whilst semi-urban and rural areas might still have 56Kbps modems, or at best of the order of 500Kbps through other means as their standard connection.

If the UK is to succeed as a world-class place for e-business, public service delivery and online participation, it is essential that we develop a world-class communications infrastructure. Broadband - the tern used to describe a wide range of technologies that allow high-speed, always-on access to the Internet and other electronic services - will playa pivotal role in this, not just for business, but for people and Government as well.  

The public sector as a user of broadband will be a major driver for the introduction of broadband services throughout the country. Modern high quality public services to which the Government is committed, will require the use of modern communication networks. From 1998-2004, the Government has made available £1.8bn to increase access to ICT for pupils in schools. Of this, between 2002 and 2004, £710m has been made available through the Standards Fund for schools' ICT infrastructure, including broadband connectivity. The Government will also invest over £lbn in 2003-2006 in broadband connectivity for public services. We will make sure that the potential benefit of this spending is maximised and takes full account of the benefits of broadband.  

Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs) are groups of local education authorities in England which were set up to provide cost-effective and co-ordinated connectivity between schools and to the Internet at 2Mbps or faster for 20% of schools in their region by August 2002. This target has been achieved and currently approximately 1 in 4 schools across England have broadband access. Current forecasts suggest schools connected will have reached approximately 45% by August 2003. In November 2002, the Prime Minister announced all schools would have a broadband connection by 2006, at a bandwidth appropriate to their particular circumstances and needs. DfES plans to provide all primary and secondary schools with 2Mbps and 8Mbps broadband connections respectively by 2006. All connections should be "symmetric" ie: the same speed in either direction. Schools should also be able to connect to each other and to the Internet in a national network. This will enable pupils and teachers to access digital resources and collaborate without the frustrations of incompatibility and poor communications links. A condition of the 2002-03 601a Standards Fund grant was that the 10 RBCs and opt-out LEAs, should interconnect by March 2003. They have entered into agreements with Ukerna to use SuperJanet to achieve this.

The majority of NHS connections are to GPs and are relatively low bandwidth, which is designed to support their immediate needs for messaging and browser use. As announced by the Prime Minister, a programme of work is being initiated to upgrade GP connections under the existing NHSnet framework contracts to 256Kbps links for their practices, and a minimum of 2Mbps for hospitals, Primary Care Trusts and other Health Authorities. True bi-directional broadband (ie: not ADSL) will be provided to the main site of all GP practices in England. These framework contracts are due to expire in 2003/04. The NHS Information Authority has initiated a procurement process for replacement contracts. New requirements will include the provision of bi-directional broadband at least 2 -10Mbps to all GPs' main site practices and wherever possible, this facility will also be extended to GPs' branch site locations.  

The primary objective of the UK Broadband Task Force (UKBTF), launched on 20 November 2002, is to support the aggregation of public sector demand for broadband and to ensure that through such aggregation there is an extension of broadband availability, particularly in rural areas. A secondary objective is to develop channels to the private sector to explore the scope for the involvement of SMEs in public sector aggregation. In order to meet these objectives, the UKBTF is seeking to establish a regional broadband aggregation committee or similar body in each English region to take the process of aggregation forward and to involve sectors that are not yet participating. They are also identifying ways of either dealing with or removing current barriers to aggregation. Currently, the UKBTF is examining a variety of business models for aggregation and preparing guidance on sources of funding for broadband. UKBTF is also undertaking trials of new technologies with the Regional Development Administrations (RDAs) to try and extend the reach of broadband.  

Under the £30m Broadband Fund, the Regional Development Agencies and Devolved Administrations are developing and starting on projects to develop innovative schemes to extend broadband access. Initial projects were announced in March 2002, with others following throughout the year, many of which could serve as pilots, particularly in rural and remote areas. Progress with these projects is in the process of being monitored and evaluated by my Department, with the results to be fed into the work to be carried out by the UK Broadband Task Force. A number of these projects involve working with local communities in driving forward the provision of broadband. For example, the South East Regional Development Agency (SEEDA) has been offering a satellite grant in Hastings for some time and this scheme is to be extended region-wide. This will be available to enterprises throughout Hampshire and financial support will be provided for the cost of installation and a year's operation (subsidised to the same level as BT's DSL service).  

As your letter indicates, another option for rural areas is to adopt a wireless service and a number of communities around the UK have successfully created ventures to bring wireless LAN technology into their villages. SEEDA is intending to provide counties with grants to support wireless pilots in rural areas and there is a good opportunity for residents of the rural areas around Andover to submit their proposals in the next few weeks to Hampshire County Council (HCC). The contact at HCC is Ian Wilcox (tel: 01962 846692). SEEDA is keen to participate in programmes, which will allow the leased line to a rural school to be used as backhaul for a village wireless LAN. This will allow the former to provide a community service to the latter, whilst the latter subsidises the services offered to the former - a real win-win situation, and SEEDA is to work with groups such as the South East Grid for Learning to try to make it happen.  

SEEDA will also provide support for "do it yourself" village wireless schemes. SEEDA is in contact with a number of vendors, who can provide specialist support and would be happy to make referrals as required.  

SEEDA is working with BT concerning the possible extension of their DSL service in the following areas:  

• BT's laboratories are analysing whether it is possible to extend the reach of the DSL service at enabled exchanges from 5.5kms to 6.5kms. This will benefit rural areas surrounding enabled exchanges, as long line lengths are a typical reason for failing to support the BT DSL service or [sic - probably means "on"] enabled exchanges.  

• BT has announced that a large number of trigger levels for candidate broadband exchanges have been reduced. Again, this will benefit smaller towns, which will find the trigger level is now easier to achieve.  

• BT is trialling a technology called "mini DSLAM". The DSLAM is the equipment sited at the local exchange, to deliver the DSL service and, as the name suggests, the mini DSLAM, which is a smaller version of DSLAM, has been created to offer a more cost effective services [sic] in the smaller exchanges. The first south east trial is in Lyndhurst and SEEDA will be happy to arrange a visit for you to the local exchange. For further details of this and other SEEDA initiatives please contact Steve Coppins, the Broadband Development Manager at SEEDA Headquarters, Cross Lanes, Guildford GU1 1YA. Tel: 01283 470 149; e-mail: stevecoppins@seeda.co.uk.

Yours ever,

Stephen

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