The government has outlined ambitions to develop the best broadband network in Europe by 2015, with a 'digital hub' in every community in the country.
The plan is to incentivise the private sector to provide coverage for two-thirds of the country. Elsewhere, and particularly in rural areas, public funds will support the development of the hubs. Some £830m has been earmarked, including money previously allocated to the digital switchover.
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said the strategy will be critical to create jobs and growth.
The importance of effective broadband in rural communities is well recognised. Indeed, the Defra Secretary of State Caroline Spelman has described it as “probably the single most important thing we can do to ensure the sustainability of our rural communities in the 21st century and end the digital divide”.
NFU comment
Senior economic adviser Phil Bicknell said: “Broadband access is undoubtedly a hot topic for NFU members. We recently ran a feature in our in-house magazine British Farmer & Grower and received responses from all over the country highlighting some of the challenges.
“Around 40% told us that they couldn’t get broadband at all, while 90% who could access broadband didn’t get a reliable connection.
“Connecting individual homes and businesses to the hubs is likely to be one challenge. And distance to the nearest hub and the cost of extending the network to individual homes may still prove barriers to broadband access in rural communities. But NFU members will be pleased to see coverage addressed by these plans.
“Many government departments are increasingly looking at how the web can play a role in more efficient delivery of services. Yet for the time being, it’s important to remember that internet access is far from universal. Poor access to broadband stops farm businesses from working online, whether that’s completing VAT returns through a web portal or simply checking out the latest weather forecast. It is therefore important that traditional communication channels remain accessible for farm businesses.”
- Michael Devenish - 19/12/2010
Twenty five years ago when we were digging service trenches from the road to the farm we put in ducting for the much written about arrival of optic fibre. The ducting is still there, and we are still waiting...
- Fred Archer - 11/12/2010
Yes. And it will happen about the same time that President Mugabe's Mars space probe returns signals to Jodrell Bank.