‘If we can spend on HS2, why not rural internet?’
Gove says broadband now vital service for farmers
ENVIRONMENT SECRETARY Michael Gove believes it would cost a fraction of the money earmarked for the High Speed 2 rail project to deliver superfast broadband to all, as he said it was time to stop discriminating over access to a service which is as essential as water.
In a speech to more than 1,500 farmers, Mr Gove suggested British agriculture cannot reach its economic potential without a level of investment that is dwarfed by the sum pledged for the £60bn rail link between London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester.
Broadband campaigners in Yorkshire have urged the government to address a dearth of fast, reliable broadband in the countryside for years, the lack of which is “the single biggest obstacle to the revival of the rural economy” said Chris France, head of planning at the North York Moors National Park Authority.
Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union’s conference yesterday, Mr Gove said it was “ridiculous” that Kenya enjoyed better mobile phone coverage than in parts of Kent and “unjustifiable” in a country that first guaranteed universal mail provision, invented the telephone and TV and pioneered the internet that broadband is so poor in many areas.
Fast, reliable and affordable broadband is “the necessary infrastructure of all our lives in these times”, he said, adding: “Farming cannot become as productive as it should be, rural economies cannot grow as they should, new housing cannot be provided in rural areas as so many hope... and we cannot have an economy that works for everyone unless everyone has access to decent broadband.
“We’re planning to spend north of £60bn on HS2, 30 times as much as it would cost to provide universal superfast broadband. Surely investment in broadband is a vital, urgent part of improving our critical national infrastructure?” Mr France told The Yorkshire
Post: “Trying to attract new businesses into our deeply rural communities without basic infrastructure was challenging and residents were unable to use online services to replace facilities such as post offices and banks which are closing at ever increasing rates.”
Only 16 per cent of NFU members have a reliable indoor mobile signal and just nine per cent have access to superfast broadband, according to a recent survey by the union.
James Copeland, regional land use adviser at the NFU, said the challenge is turning Mr Gove’s enthusiasm into real action to deliver the digital infrastructure that farmers need now.
Mr Gove claimed EU rules on state aid stopped the Government investing in broadband “in a way that is best for the UK” but Libby Bateman, an adviser for the Country Land and Business Association, said this was a “smokescreen” as it was impossible to believe the Government could distort a commercial market with public funding after Brexit.
FOR MANY people living in rural areas of Yorkshire, frustratingly-slow broadband speeds are much more than an irritation, they are holding back their hopes of a better life.
By not having the same level of internet access as those living in towns and cities, rural businesses can’t be as productive, while daily life, now ever-more reliant on technological advances like online banking, becomes increasingly difficult.
As such, it is heartening to hear Environment Secretary Michael Gove point out that providing superfast broadband to all homes across the country would cost just three per cent of what the nation is spending on HS2.
In a speech at the NFU’s annual conference, Mr Gove put the matter simply: “It’s ridiculous that you can get better mobile phone coverage in Kenya than in parts of Kent. Unjustifiable that in the country that first guaranteed universal mail provision, invented the telephone and television and pioneered the World Wide Web that broadband provision is so patchy and poor in so many areas.”
The Environment Secretary pointed out that public spending on improving rural broadband should not be seen as a “subsidy” from citydwellers to the countryside, given those living in more remote areas are producing food and protecting the landscape for generations to come.
Mr Gove suggested money for introducing universal broadband could come after Brexit from what the country now sends to the EU. But there should be no delay in starting this work as soon as possible to get rural communities up to speed with the modern world.