Britain gives new fibre broadband providers US$500mil fund boost

An internet cable is seen at a server room in this picture illustration taken in Warsaw January 24, 2012. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

LONDON: Britain will provide £400mil (US$500mil or RM2.18bil) of funding to spur the building of more fibre-to-the-home broadband connections, the "gold standard" of speed in excess of 1 gigabyte per second only available now to 2% of premises. 

The government said the finance would be targeted at emerging network providers to encourage a ramp-up in the delivery of full-fibre broadband.