Israel plans to make faster Internet access

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday announced plans to make super-fast Internet accessible to households nationwide.

The move will give Israel a head start on most other countries as a world leader in communications, Netanyahu told ministers at the outset of the weekly cabinet meeting, according to a statement obtained by Xinhua.

He added "fiber optics revolution," to be implemented in the near future, seeks to enable "every home" to hook up to 100 mega broadband Internet at an affordable price.

The plan will be launched in Kiryat Shmona, an impoverished town bordering Lebanon, he said.

"The significance is that you are closing gaps because you are allowing every home, including homes in the periphery, to be linked to culture, education and health," Netanyahu said.

"You receive services in all these areas via the Internet, and you close what I call the 'digital gap'," the prime minister said.

Stating his ambitious goal to turn Israel into "a world leader" in communications, Netanyahu said that the country's advantage lies not only in its technology, but in its size.

"Usually, there is no advantage in being a small country, but in this regard the advantage lies in the ability to connect all homes and every family in every community to rapid fibers," the Israeli premier said.

"Everyone connects with the future. Every Israeli child can connect to the global Internet and directly receive services and information at home in the best possible way," he said.