The announcement of Government plans to roll out superfast broadband to every community in the UK by the end of the current Parliament is good news for the Northern Isles, according to Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt today confirmed that the Government is to provide up to £830 million of investment to support the development of ‘digital hubs’ with fibre optic internet connections in more rural areas.

After the election, the coalition Government confirmed that they would work towards universal access to broadband with speeds of at least 2Mbps by 2015. Today’s announcement goes beyond this and could see households in the Northern Isles able to access internet speeds of 24 Mbps by the end of the current Parliament.

Commenting, Mr Carmichael said:

‘The internet has come to play a vital role in our local and national economy but it is clear that people living in more remote areas such as the Northern Isles continue to be hit hard by poor access, slow connection speeds and outages in service.

‘Today’s announcement of £830 million in funding to support the rollout of superfast broadband in more difficult to reach areas is welcome news for Orkney and Shetland and will provide our local economy with a real boost in the longer term.

‘I have always maintained that it is vital that people living in more remote areas are not forgotten when new technologies are being rolled out in other parts of the country. This announcement underlines the commitment of the coalition government to delivering superfast broadband for everyone, not just those living in or around urban areas.’