Public sector urged to match private fibre broadband investment

The public sector has been urged to invest more money in fibre optic broadband.

James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, suggested that if state-run organisations put as much cash into fibre broadband rollouts as private companies, they could gain benefits, the Northern Echo reports.

Super-fast broadband enables firms to receive data at a much quicker speed and Mr Ramsbotham told the newspaper that if the public sector matched private investment "all parts of the region, particularly those in rural locations, [could] benefit from super-fast broadband".

He was commenting after BT announced that it is going to roll out super-fast broadband across the north-east as part of an initiative that is going to cost up to £2.5 billion.

This will see more than 300,000 businesses and houses gain access to fast internet connection speeds.

Last week, BT revealed 156 more exchanges across the UK that will receive its super-fast broadband services, aimed at helping more than 1.5 million companies and homes.