UK broadband supply and IT skills praised

The UK is a world leader in terms of the supply of broadband and the prevalence of IT skills in the economy, according to a global study from the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Britain was praised for the level of government support on offer for the spread of broadband and for the standard of training available for IT professionals, as well as for the wider development of the IT industry.

It did not fare so well on IT competitiveness, losing three places in the rankings since last year as a result of shortcomings in areas such as research and development.

The US retains the number one spot on the list, while Finland and Sweden take second and third place respectively.

Britain has made great strides in developing more advanced broadband networks that enable more people to use VoIP solutions more easily and download media content at faster rates, but more needs to be done to tackle cybercrime, the report states.

The UK remains one of the only countries in the world to be pursuing a universal connectivity policy.