Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt meets Eden’s Broadband Champions

10 November 2011 at 11:10 in News by Louis Mosley

Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport –and the Minister in charge of broadband - was in Penrith yesterday where he met some of Eden’s Broadband Champions.

Jeremy Hunt MP, Sec of State, Miles Mandelson, Gt Asby Broadband Champion, Lindsey Annison, Warcop Broadband Champion, Rory Stewart MP

Best of all, he ‘virtually’ opened Warcop’s Cyberbarn by fusing together a fibre-optic cable (with some help from Lindsey Annison!).

Rory said: “I was delighted to introduce Jeremy to some of the key players of the East Cumbria Community Broadband Forum. And it was a real honour to have him virtually open the Warcop Cyberbarn by actually fusing a piece of fibre-optic cable! It’s been great that the Secretary of State has seen just how effective our community broadband activists are here in Eden, and to see how Cumbria is driving forward the government’s superfast broadband agenda. I’d also like to congratulate Lindsey on the opening of the Cyberbarn, which will be an amazing resource for the people of Warcop and the surrounding area.”

Lindsey has some great videos of the meeting on her blog: http://5tth.blogspot.com/2011/11/dcms-minister-fuses-his-first-fibre-for.html

Cyberbarn, Warcop and Bleatarn, is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday between 1 and 7pm. Fibre, 3G And satellite technologies are on show. UK Online Basics course are available on everything from email to online safety, DEFRA to CTS, social media to computer programming.

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Britain’s Superfast Broadband Future: what do you think?

6 December 2010 at 17:10 in News by Louis Mosley

A very important announcement was made this morning.

Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, launched the government’s new broadband strategy: Britain’s Superfast Broadband Future, which outlines how the government plans to deliver its pledge of the best superfast broadband in Europe for Britain by 2015.

The document is packed with useful information and well worth reading. Chapter 1 outlines many of the benefits of having a superfast broadband connection. Chapter 3 is a quick run through of the technological options.

At the heart of the document is a government promise to give every rural community ‘a point to which fibre is delivered’, called a ‘digital hub’.

In return, the government asks that communities take the lead in stimulating demand for superfast broadband and, where necessary, extend and even build their own networks.

This is close to the deal offered in the Eden Declaration, but – as ever – the devil will be in the detail.

An important question remains unanswered: what exactly is a ‘digital hub’?

The document promises to put ‘the people who will eventually use the infrastructure in a position to shape it’. So, what do you think?

Read the rest of this entry →

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