Affordable broadband report welcomed on Merseyside

A new report emphasising the importance of affordable broadband on Merseyside has been welcomed by Steve Dickson, chief executive of the Sefton Chamber of Commerce.

Due to go before Sefton Council's cabinet member for regeneration and housing Ian Maher, the report states that faster broadband services could have a significant impact on economic activity in some of the most deprived areas of the country.

In comments reported by the Formby Times, Mr Dickson described the study as "a good start" for an issue that looks set to shape the future of the region.

He added that local authorities will need to work closely with BT and Virgin Media, the main providers in the region, to upgrade existing services.

"Partnership with BT and Virgin as the main distributors is crucial to ensuring a medium-term strategy [that] is absolutely robust in distribution and technical delivery for business," Mr Dickson told the newspaper.

Liverpool was one of three groups of local authorities recently classed as "making insufficient progress" with their broadband plans by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.