The first 20,000 families to benefit from the government's plan to provide broadband access to every home in the UK have been selected.

A total of £300 million is being spent on the scheme, which has been outlined by schools minister Jim Knight.

Oldham and Suffolk will be the first places where the plan will be implemented, with low-income families eligible for grants of between £100 and £700 to buy a computer, software or internet access for one year.

Mr Knight is also urging IT companies to offer special deals to students aged between seven and 18 years.

He stated that this was not simply about offering computers to those who cannot afford them, explaining that a access to the hardware and the internet at home was becoming as important as having a "pen, paper and calculator at school".

The minister said: "The bottom line is that having home access to the internet or a computer is no longer an optional extra for school work - it is fast becoming essential. Schools are revolutionising how they educate faster than many families realise."

While he commented that there was no substitute for effective schooling and teaching, having access to the internet and technology could improve children's ability to "study, research and communicate" when at home.

It is the aim of the scheme to get every family in the country online by the year 2011 and it will be going nationwide by autumn 2009.

While some areas of the country will be getting free broadband in a bid to get everyone online, others will soon be able to sign up to high-speed fibre optic connections capable of achieving up to 100Mbps.

A trial of this system is being set up in Bournemouth at the moment by H20 Networks.


Thursday, 23rd October 2008

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