The Info Flipper

Government to Offer Laptop and Internet Connection to 270,000 Families

Posted by admin on February 8th, 2010 — Posted in Consumers Den, Technology Info, Telecommunication Tips + More

The British government is about to launch the ambitious scheme wherein families belonging to the low income group will be provided with a free PC and a high-speed internet connection on application for a grant.

About 270,000 families will be covered under this Home Access initiative. The scheme will cost the UK government a substantial £300m. PM Gordon Brown confirmed that the scheme which has been well publicised for a while now will finally begin to be implemented now. Details about the proposals were first outlined in an announcement made in September 2008. This was followed by pilot trials. Two areas were selected for the trials in 2009, and both the trials proved that the scheme had great potential.

The launching of the scheme is a dream come true for Gordon Brown. The PM has always pushed for computer access and internet connectivity for low income families, and his support for this particular scheme was seen right from the days he was a Chancellor.

Families who obtain the grant will receive a laptop for their own use. The laptop will come with a broadband connection with a validity of 1-year. After a year, it will be converted into a paid service and the payment will have to be made by the family, if desired.

The government has however made it clear in a recent announcement that recipients of the free meal scheme will not be automatically eligible for the free laptop although free meal at school is considered the benchmark for identification of low income families. For those families which successfully win the grant, the computer will be available by 2011.

For information on broadband and free laptops your take a look at this broadband comparison table of the products and services from the top internet service providers, the website maintains a database of all the best broadband prices and packages.