On monday I highlighted the progress the Government was making on improving access to rural broadband. Its generated some discussion on my facebook page but here is the take of Phil Bicknell, senior economic adviser to the NFU:
“Broadband access is undoubtedly a hot topic for NFU members.
“We recently ran a feature in our in-house magazine British Farmer & Grower on rural broadband, and we also asked for members views. We received responses from all over the country highlighting some of the challenges. Around 40 per cent told us that they couldn’t get broadband at all, while 90 per cent who could access broadband didn’t get a reliable connection.
“All respondents to the recent survey said that their business would see ‘some benefit’ or a ‘significant benefit’ from a quicker internet connection, and felt that broadband would be essential for business in the future.
“Connecting individual homes and businesses to the hubs is likely to be one challenge. 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."
