Free laptops and broadband promised for 270,000 poor UK families
This isn't quite on par with Finland's contention that 1Mb broadband is a "right," but UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged £300 million ($484 million) for the provision of laptops and broadband connections to low income families. The idea is for parents to be connected to their children's school, so that they may access reports and track progress online. We don't know if broadband is going to be quite the panacea that it's being promoted as, but at least an effort is being made to make internet access truly universal. The new initiative is part of an education bill being debated in the House of Commons right now, but given the PM's low popular and parliamentary approval, there's no certainty that this pledge will come to pass. Let's just hope it does.Free laptops and broadband promised for 270,000 poor UK families originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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