Broadband is now a vital part of our lives
Broadband is now as great a necessity to daily life as utilities including gas, water and electricity.
That is according to Gordon Brown on Tuesday after the publication of Digital Britain, a report setting out the Government’s approach to the internet in society and the economy.
The Government acknowledged broadband’s necessity with a promise – to give two megabits per second access to every household by 2012.
And it got me thinking about how important it is for me.
So much of day-to-day life is built around the internet.
I do some of my shopping there, frequently bank online, email, pay bills, look up information in a second and more.
Previous job hunts were nearly impossible without a broadband connection, with online application forms and tests the norm.
And even simple things, like when a hunt for citric acid in two chemists yielded no success, I clicked online and found what I needed in a flash.
If money was tight, I would even drop the TV licence in favour of a monthly internet bill.
I could survive without it, but engaging in social and economic life would be hampered.
Maybe that’s a sad truth, I’m not sure, but it is a sign of the times.
That is why I am pleased the Government has made its pledge to give everyone broadband access, especially after the BBC reported last month that about 3 million people live in broadband ‘notspots’ – unable to connect.
As the Prime Minister said in The Times on Tuesday, we are at a “tipping point” in the broadband era where it will soon become a necessity for all.
I agree - a lack of decent speed broadband will soon be considered a measure of serious deprivation and equal internet access for all will be yet another yardstick by which we measure the gap between the rich and the poor in this country.
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Weather for Diss
Thursday 02 September 2010
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
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Wind direction: North east
