Waveney MP Peter Aldous today asked the Prime Minister about the importance of investment in broadband in Suffolk at Prime Ministers Questions.

Mr Aldous asked the Prime Minister:

“Suffolk is among the worst-served areas of the country for broadband and the commonly cited ‘final third’ of premises beyond the reach of commercial broadband deployment is more like a final two thirds in Suffolk. With nearly one-fifth of all Suffolk premises receiving speeds of less than 2 Mega bits per second, does the Prime Minister agree with me that investment in broadband in Suffolk is essential to boost our economic recovery?”

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Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con): Suffolk is among the worst-served areas of the country for broadband, and the commonly cited final third of premises beyond the reach of commercial broadband deployment is more like a final two thirds in that area. Given that nearly one fifth of all Suffolk premises receive a speed of less than 2 megabytes per second, does the Prime Minister agree that investment in broadband in Suffolk is essential to boost our economic recovery?

The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We must put this investment in. We are spending, I think, £530 million investing in broadband. Particularly in rural areas, broadband is going to be absolutely vital in driving the creation of the small businesses and growing businesses that will be so important to keep the growth of employment in our country.

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