Broadband Speeds: Northern Ireland Debate

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Broadband Speeds: Northern Ireland

Gavin Robinson Excerpts
Wednesday 6th January 2016

(8 years, 4 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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Gavin Robinson Portrait Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP)
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I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way and for securing this debate. She may be aware that when I was on Belfast City Council we secured the second largest amount—£13.7 million—from the urban broadband super-connected cities scheme for Belfast. However, does she agree that there is still further work to be done by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to secure such a scheme for rural areas, which need it most?

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Portrait Ms Ritchie
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for his helpful intervention. While the concentration of that money was clearly in city areas of Belfast and Derry, there is still a need to concentrate funds within rural areas, working in particular with the alternative technologies that are currently being promoted, because we all want to avail ourselves of those.