UK passes one million superfast broadband user milestone
The UK now has in excess of 1m people who benefit from the zippy connection speed of superfast broadband, according to the latest figures from the government.
A report penned to assess the countries progress toward rolling out high-speed internet to 95 per cent of all homes and businesses adjudged the process to be ‘firmly on track’ to meet its 2017 deadline.
Lauding the milestone culture secretary Sajid Javid said: “It is totally transforming the way we live and work. Households can go online simultaneously without the connection slowing down or dropping out.
"For businesses, superfast speeds are boosting profits through increased sales, reduced overheads and accessing markets abroad for the first time."
Critics have queried whether the numbers are as positive as they first appear, pointing out that ‘superfast’ in the UK is defined at a comparably paltry 24 Mbps – well below the likes of Finland where the baseline speed is 100Mbps or South Korea which is aiming for 1Gbps by 2017.
In light of this the Federation of Small Businesses is calling for a commitment to bring speeds of 10Mbps to all homes and businesses by 2018-19.