Broadband Delivery Will Require Big Solutions

Delivering fast effective broadband to rural communities will require big solutions in small places – according to the CLA, the rural economy people.

The CLA says the big issue for all rural businesses is broadband – and the Government’s commitment to invest £830million in high speed broadband provision across the whole country follows ten years of CLA led campaigning.

But the Association says that promises to deliver superfast broadband to everybody should mean exactly that and not just to the 90 per cent of the population which is easily accessible.

“The remaining ten per cent - which might not get access to high speed, high quality broadband - is the group we worry about. They are the farmers or remote rural businesses at the end of the lane and are too easily overlooked,” said CLA South West Director, John Mortimer.

The CLA is also concerned about the delivery mechanism – because although the Government has indicated it wants communities to put bids together, Mr Mortimer says that was unlikely to prove either practical or efficient for all communities to bid into the process.

“We certainly don’t want to see this become a competitive process. The reality is that it will be beyond the capability of most small communities to manage the process or to access the appropriate level of expertise. Effective broadband delivery will require the kind of strategic leadership we have seen provided by the Unitary Authorities in Cornwall and Wiltshire.

“The CLA will continue to provide the policy leadership but we now believe it should be the responsibility of the higher level local authorities to pull together strategic delivery and to ensure that the whole population can reap the benefits access to high quality, high speed broadband brings,” he said.