UK deserves praise for boosting internet access
The UK may have come in for regular criticism regarding governmental plans to improve super-fast broadband coverage, but one area where the country deserves praise is the effort to bring the benefits of the internet to more people.
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the number of British households with an internet connection of some form stands at 21 million, representing 80 per cent of all households.
More than nine in ten connected homes were served by fixed-line broadband, with one-third of these using a cable of fibre optic-based service.
When the same study was carried out last year, 19 million homes - or 77 per cent of all residential properties - had access to the web.
That's undoubtedly a pretty impressive uptick, but the good news doesn't stop there, with a major strategy currently attempting to deliver a further huge boost to the number of citizens able to get online.
The Go ON UK strategy aims to bring the benefits of the internet to every individual, organisation and community in the country.
Supported by Age UK, the BBC, E.ON, Everything Everywhere and a host of other big-name companies, the initiative has seen the partners pledge to work together on the creation of an action plan by next month outlining their activities for the coming year-and-a-half.
Go ON UK was launched in response to the publication of a Boston Consulting Group report that revealed the internet contributes more to the UK's GDP than to that of any other G20 nation.
According to the study, this contribution will grow by 11 per cent a year between now and 2016 to reach £221 billion.
In addition, the government has pledged to transform the country into Europe's technology hub by splashing out hundreds of millions of pounds on the deployment of super-fast broadband and making public services 'digital by default'.
If such measures continue, the days of a fully connected society could be just around the corner.
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