CLA wants government grants for rural broadband

The Country, Land, and Business Association has apparently been calling on the government to provide grants for people in rural areas that cannot get access to broadband.

The issue of people in rural areas being unable to get access to adequate broadband services has caused a lot of controversy recently, and whilst the government has launched a universal broadband plan there are still concerns that many areas will be left without adequate broadband speeds, which will affect both businesses and residents in the areas. It is mainly rural areas that are likely to be suffering, and the Country, Land, and Business Association now wants action taken to ensure that this does not happen.

The CLA has apparently called on the government to provide grants for those in rural areas that cannot get adequate broadband access. The CLA has stated that it is already working on proposals that it will send through to the Digital Britain team over the coming weeks. It has also been claimed that some rural area local authorities and business groups are making efforts to improve their own broadband access through various projects and initiatives.

One farmer said that locals in his area of Wennington had set up their own local network to fulfil their Internet needs as much as possible. He said: “There’s a rule there – an agreement that we all sign. So the kids know there’s no gaming, no YouTube and iPlayer until after 5pm when the businesses have closed for the day and then it’s a free for all. Some nights it can go slow… but it’s the best we can do at the moment.”

An official from the CLA said: “The CLA is lobbying the government to introduce a series of broadband grants for rural areas at parish level. We are currently developing proposals and hope to send them to Stephen Timms (Digital Britain Minister) in the next two to three weeks.”

Source – BBC