All secondary schools in the UK to get high speed broadband by 2014

All the UK secondary schools will be provided with high speed broadband service to enable interactive teaching within the next two and half years. Obviously the government does not want to lag behind the neighbors with advanced communication facilities.

All the 650 secondary schools will be provided with 100 Mbps broadband by September 2014. Initially 200 schools will be getting the facility by the coming September.

Another 200 schools will be catered by 2013 and the remaining by 2014.

In effect thousands of children will complete three academic years before their school gets the connection.

The total cost of the project is expected to be around € 40 million and will be shared between the Department of Education and Department of Communication.

The primary schools will not be benefited now.

Pat Rabbitte, the communication minister, is distressed that Ireland schools are far behind the schools in neighboring countries in communication facilities. However, Ireland is much better placed than most countries in the world.

A spokesperson of the department said that even in the remote areas of Ireland, broadband system can be installed without much difficulty.

With a download speed100 Mb, every school can be online at the same time without any variation in connecting speeds.

As per the programme, the schools along the west coast and border areas will be taken care of at the beginning.

Incidentally it was Eamon Ryan, predecessor of Rabbitte, who originally planned for the scheme as early as in October 2010.