Openreach want to hold some focus groups, to be held nationwide, consisting of 7 to15 farmers each. They will last up to two hours and will discuss how digital connections have benefitted members’ businesses. The focus groups will take place in May or June 2019 and Openreach will reimburse members for reasonable travel expenses incurred to attend a focus group. Openreach may want to undertake, with permission, some member case studies on how connectivity has benefitted the farm business.
The NFU is acutely aware of how a significant proportion of NFU members are affected by poor broadband and mobile connections and is lobbying hard to get the final hard to reach places connected. This is why we want to work with Openreach to help them understand the importance of connectivity in agriculture. The NFU released its latest broadband and mobile survey 2018 results earlier this year. The NFU has also recently responded to the Ofcom consultation on enabling opportunities for innovation: shared access to spectrum supporting mobile technology.
Any NFU members that have benefitted from superfast fixed line broadband and are interested in participating in a focus group, please email chief economics adviser Andrew Francis, who will forward the details to Openreach.
Further reading:
- See how the NFU is working on broadband issues in our dedicated channel
- Ofcom consultation - NFU response
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