INFORMATION SOCIETY: GREEN LIGHT FOR WELSH BROADBAND SUPPORT.

The funding will be provided under the Broadband Wales Program, itself part of the UK's National Broadband Strategy whose aim is to reduce the 'digital divide' - the gap between those parts of the UK with affordable broadband access and those without. The money will be granted to a service provider, selected via a tender, which will then be responsible for rolling out first-generation broadband coverage to underserved parts of Wales.

Broadband enables faster and better-quality access to the Internet and other technologies, and is seen by the European Commission as a powerful generator of productivity gains and jobs, as well as helping to improve living standards and social cohesion. As a result, the Welsh initiative will be co-financed by EU structural funds. The successful company will finance 50% of the project itself.

European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that the initiative of the Welsh Assembly was compatible with EU regulations on state aid as the subsidies are only being provided to develop broadband access in blackspot areas where the service is currently unavailable and where it is not considered commercially viable...