CityFibre calls for increased govt fibre broadband funding

Additional funding from the government and private sector is required if the UK's fibre optic broadband goals are to be achieved, according to CityFibre.

The Conservative-led coalition is aiming to deliver the best super-fast broadband infrastructure in Europe by 2015, but the network operator claimed greater investment and healthy market competition will be needed to hit this target.

Chief communications officer of CityFibre Mark Collins commented: "This country is still a long way behind the rest of the Europe when it comes to the provision of digital infrastructure, therefore improvements to our broadband networks are essential."

His remarks came in reaction to Chancellor George Osborne's pledge that £100 million will be spent on creating ten "super-connected cities" across the UK, complete with ultra-fast fibre optic broadband and high-speed mobile networks.

Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London are four of the locations that are set to benefit from the initiative, with the remainder due to be confirmed following a nationwide competition.