Map: Farmers still missing out in push for rural broadband
Ed Vaizey was very self congratulatory about what he and BT had achieved in terms of broadband coverage on the radio this morning. This article suggests not all rural dwellers are convinced. It tells us:
But countryside and farming groups have given a mixed response to the announcement.
Suzanne Clear, the NFU’s senior adviser for planning and rural affairs, said: “The NFU welcomes the wider rollout of broadband, but our members are currently telling us, via our own digital survey, that they need a faster rollout to their farms both in the open countryside and right next to towns. Currently they are missing out.
“We would welcome the returned BT funds being focused on getting those important food and farming businesses and their rural communities superfast connections, too.”
The Country, Land and Business Association (CLA), which has campaigned for all rural areas to have access to broadband for more than a decade, said the government needed to come up with solutions to provide broadband in the country’s hardest-to-reach areas.