Posted: 24th Feb, 2007 By: MarkJ
Thinkbroadband has spotted an interesting
eGov news item, which outlines how major improvements to North Yorkshire's broadband infrastructure have been approved by the European Commission (EC):
The European Commission has approved under EC Treaty state aid rules a UK initiative to create an advanced broadband network in North Yorkshire. The Commission concluded that the aid was unlikely to cause undue distortion of competition within the EU and was therefore compatible with European state aid rules.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes commented: This advanced network for the public sector can be used by all commercial operators. It will help the economic development of North Yorkshire by allowing citizens, businesses and government bodies to reap the full benefits of advanced broadband connectivity. The project is fully in line with the Commissions policy to promote broadband in under-served areas.
The network is reportedly based off fibre optic technology and should be capable of handling speeds over 64Gbps (Gigabits per second), expandable to 320Gbps at a later date. It may also allow faster ADSL2+ and SDSL technologies to reach areas that couldn't receive them before.