High Speed Broadband ‘Could Create Thousands of Jobs’

by Stephen Logan on 16th December 2009

An industry source has suggested that developing next-generation broadband could help create thousands of new jobs in the UK.

Jon Kingsbury, programme director of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts’ creative economy team, predicted that 600,000 new jobs could be directly created from the provision of "super-fast" internet.

He suggested that £18 billion could be added to gross domestic product and highlighted how South Korea is currently innovating in this area.

Mr Kingsbury pointed out that it is not just economically that the country could benefit, since entertainment, education, and online healthcare could all become more connected.

The use of professional SEO services in these sectors could also see an increase in popularity due to higher web traffic.

"Patients can be treated at home rather than at their GP’s surgery, students can learn remotely and audiences can get access to new types of content to inform and entertain," he explained.

Recently, the Office for National Statistics revealed that 76 per cent of UK adults had accessed the internet at some point in the three months prior to being surveyed.