ISSUES
: The Internet of Things
Chapter 1: Digital issues
25
Rural areas “need better broadband”
A new report into broadband access shows the “dire” level of availability in rural
areas, says Lib Dem leader Tim Farron.
T
he Westmorland and Lonsdale MP said urgent
action should be taken to improve poor availability
of broadband in the countryside.
It follows the release of the first report from the British
Infrastructure Group of MPs, which examines broadband
coverage.
Called
Broadbad
, the document shows that Mr Farron’s
Lake District constituency has among the slowest
broadband speeds in the country.
With an average download speed of just 14.7 Mbps, it is
628th out of 650 constituencies when ranked in terms of
average speeds.
Over 55% of broadband connections in the constituency
are under 10 Mbps.
Ofcom, the regulatory body responsible for the telecoms
sector, believe that a download speed of 10 Mbit/s is the
minimum necessary for an “acceptable user experience”.
According to the report, “48% of rural connections do
not meet this minimum speed, leaving ordinary people
and businesses lagging behind the rest of the country.”
The report concludes that “poor Internet connections
are costing the UK economy up to £11 billion per year”.
Mr Farron said: “This report confirms what local people
already know – broadband access in our area is simply
not good enough.
“It is critical both for residents and businesses that
access to decent broadband is extended to rural areas.
“Unfortunately, the scale of the problem is not matched
by the scale of the Government’s ambition.
“In urban areas the government is busy improving
superfast and ultrafast broadband access, yet in rural
areas there has only been a commitment to providing
speeds of 10 Mbps by 2020.
“While that would be a welcome improvement on our
current service, the reality is that in the modern day that
is simply not enough.
“The Government must support the rural economy by
providing decent broadband access to all.”
The Government recently announced a new scheme
offering subsidised satellite broadband to rural
customers on slow connections.
The scheme was launched during December by the
Department for Culture, Media & Sport.
Prime Minister David Cameron has also pledged that
everyone will have a legal right to request a 10 Mbps
broadband speed by 2020.
Mr Cameron said the government was putting access
to fast broadband on a similar footing as other basic
services.
The Government would help ensure every home and
business had access to fast broadband by the end of
this Parliament, he said.
4 February 2016
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The above information is reprinted with kind
permission from the Rural Services Network. Please
visit
for further information.
© Rural Services Network 2016
“The Government must support the
rural economy by providing decent
broadband access to all”
