New “Funded by UK Government” Plaques to Appear on Broadband Cabinets

Major national infrastructure projects, specifically those like the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme that are being backed by public funding from the central Government of the United Kingdom, will soon be adorned by a new “Funded by the UK Government” plague and Union Jack flag. But not everybody is happy.

Apparently the Union Jack flags and related messaging will be displayed on everything from bridges to the “fibre broadband” capable street cabinets (FTTC) that BT have been installing across the UK as part of the wider £1.7bn BDUK scheme; the latter project currently aims to make fixed line superfast broadband speeds (24Mbps+) available to 95% of the population by 2017.

The European Union (EU) also does something similar with the projects that it has helped to fund, although technically the EU investment actually comes from member states. Meanwhile many of the street cabinets being installed by BT under the BDUK scheme already include the logos of related local councils and other funding partners, so it’s perhaps nothing to write home about.

Danny Alexander (LibDem), Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury, said:

“It’s only right that we recognise the contribution of the UK taxpayer in supporting this economic growth, which is why I’m delighted to launch these Union Jack plaques, which will proudly adorn infrastructure investments from roads in Cornwall to broadband in Caithness.”

Naturally not everybody will see the new plagues plaques in the same way and indeed members of the Scottish National Party (SNP) have been perhaps understandably quite vocal about the whole affair. As the SNP’s Deputy Leader, Stewart Hosie, said (BBC TV): “Putting a sticker on projects is a silly gimmick by Danny Alexander and his Tory bosses, which can’t cover over the fact that his government at Westminster has slashed infrastructure spending – destroying jobs and delaying economic recovery.”

Ultimately todays move isn’t going to help people in areas of poor connectivity to receive a better broadband connection any faster than they would have yesterday.