Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Rural areas falling further behind on broadband access
WEST MPs representing rural seats fear their constituents are being left further behind when it comes to access to high-speed broadband and reliable mobile phone coverage.
MPs, campaigners and volunteers are piling pressure on the Government to deliver full-fibre broadband to far-flung corners of the countryside.
Some fear that despite the existence of the Government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit infrastructure project to improve connectivity to hard-to-reach rural communities, some are still falling through the cracks.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron was speaking after a project to roll out fibre broadband to a remote area of the Eden Valley in Cumbria was cancelled at the 11th hour as a community benefit society did not secure Project Gigabit funding.
It will not be commercially viable for the company that did secure a £108 million contract for the wider area to connect those communities.
He said: “The Government is acting like one size has to fit all but it is failing to understand this scheme won’t reach these areas. People in that area are now going to have to wait.”
Chris Loder, Conservative MP for West Dorset, fears Project Gigabit may result in providers becoming less competitive and therefore delivering poorer services for his constituents.
He said: “If a provider signs up to one of the various Government schemes it doesn’t necessarily have to deliver on the scheme and it can subsequently block the capacity or capability of a competitor.
“This is a great concern to me when there are other businesses and companies that believe they could provide that service to local people much more quickly and possibly more efficiently. It is anticompetitive to allow that sort of behaviour.”
Campaigners and MPs from across the political spectrum fear the Government schemes are not fit for purpose and that vast swathes of rural Britain are now at risk of being left behind and becoming “digital deserts”.
However, the Government insists its plan to “turbocharge British broadband is working” and that the UK is “rolling out gigabit networks faster than any country in the EU”.
More than one million homes, businesses and public buildings can now access the best internet speeds on the market as a result of official programmes, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has announced.
Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan, also the MP for Chippenham, said: “Thanks to our investment, rural communities held back by achingly slow internet can now tap into the best speeds on the market. Our plan to turbocharge British broadband is working.”
Meanwhile, a new National Audit Office (NAO) report published this week warns rural areas face more delays in getting 4G mobile coverage – big cities, of course, already enjoy 5G services.
The Shared Rural Network is a joint programme funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and mobile operators EE, Virgin Media, O2, Three and Vodafone. But the official NAO report warns it is not clear the SRN scheme will hit its target of achieving 95% 4G mobile coverage across the UK landmass by December 2025.
As a result of cost pressures, the mobile phone companies may no longer be able to deliver the level of coverage required within the current funding, which amounts to £1 billion.
Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Dyke said: “My constituents in Somerton and Frome are being left behind.
“Good quality mobile connectivity is key to growing the economy but, as with so much else, the Government is failing to deliver.”
In Dorset, John Foot, chairman of the Stoke Abbott Connectivity Action Group, said: “The SRN is unable even to identify areas where 4G provision is lacking, owing to their insistence data provided by MNOs is accurate. Time and time again we have demonstrated that it’s wholly inaccurate in our case.”
A DSIT spokesman said: “The programme remains on track to deliver 95% UK 4G coverage by the end of 2025.”
A Vodafone spokesman said: “Our commitment to the Shared Rural Network will help deliver reliable 4G mobile broadband to 95% of the UK, and we have successfully introduced 4G to nearly 160 rural locations as part of the project.”