Battle For Faster Rural Broadband Continues

The battle to get faster broadband access for rural areas in the UK continues this week following the publication of a new report.

The report, created by the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC), contains several recommendations to ensure rural areas are not left behind in the broadband speed race. These include the need for faster broadband network infrastructure to be introduced in the countryside.

2Mbps for all UK homes is the current government broadband speed goal, however, it is feared that this will be nowhere near enough for rural areas.

There are currently 42% of rural homes in the UK struggling with broadband connections that are lower than 2Mbps. Whilst increasing the speed limit to 2Mbps will help, the main concern is that once the goal is reached, no more work will be carried out to further increase broadband speeds.

The report, known as “Mind the Gap – Digital Britain, A Rural Perspective”, highlights the fact that a third of Britons working from home all live in rural areas.

The government encourages working from home as it cuts down on road congestion and therefore helps with global warming. However, unless broadband speed improvements are made, those working from home in rural areas will always be struggling with failing connections and internet based restrictions.

A spokesperson for the CRC also commented on the government’s new broadband tax scheme. They said, “It starts to address the issue but there are lots of unanswered questions and issues about whether it will provide enough funding”.

With many homes far away from local telephone exchanges, people living in rural areas are currently the worst affected by slow broadband speeds. If the government want to improve broadband performance across the UK, they need to address the rural broadband issues as well as the urban ones.