Posted: 11th Jan, 2005 By: MarkJ
20,000 people in the Shoreditch area of East London look set to benefit from a new £20m government broadband scheme known as '
Wired Network', which will be capable of speeds up to 5Mbps:
The project, which connects businesses and homeowners to an ultra high-speed broadband connection, is vital if Tony Blair is to meet a Labour conference pledge to ensure that every British home has broadband access by 2008.
IBM, the information technology company, will hand out 20,000 television set-top boxes to residents. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is providing funds for the scheme, which is being seen as a model for wiring up Britain. By this summer, 99.4 per cent of homes and businesses in Britain are expected to be able to access broadband technology more than currently can access a clean analogue television signal.
Services will include access to online CCTV cameras so that vulnerable people can see if it is safe to go out. There will be a community service for residents to exchange goods, choose plumbers or childcare from an approved list of suppliers and organise the collective purchase of utilities online.Sadly
The Times item isn't specific regarding the technology to be used, although WiMAX is one of the methods talked about.