County's £10m new technology bid

Councillors are hoping to fund most of the project through grants

Council chiefs in North Yorkshire are setting up their own £10m company to put the county at the forefront of the broadband revolution.

NYnet Ltd will ensure public bodies and businesses in the remotest parts of the county can plug into the latest computer technology advances.

It also aims to allow businesses to compete nationally and globally, potentially creating hundreds of jobs.

Councillors said the county risked falling behind if it did not act.

They said that without their intervention it would be another five years before next generation broadband would reach North Yorkshire.

Council officials are now waiting to hear if they will get grants to fund most of the NYnet Ltd project.

'Growing internet divide'

The council has applied to Yorkshire Forward and for European funding to finance the company.

County councillor John Watson, who is also a director of NYnet Ltd, said he was confident they would recoup the costs of setting up the company.

He said: "We know that our schools alone will need their broadband updating in a few years' time, so even if we become our biggest customer we know it'll be worth it.

"We've been concerned for some time about the growing internet divide - not just between the north of England and the south, which has been estimated at anything between five and seven years, but between major urban centres and the rural areas.

"Independent analysis has shown that if these new networks were available in North Yorkshire now - as they already are in some parts of the south of England - then a significant number of new jobs would result."