Broadband not spots criticised again by MP

An MP has recently spoken out about her ongoing concern over broadband not spots in rural areas of the UK, which is a problem that has caused concern for many MPs and officials over recent months.

Broadband ‘not spots’ in rural areas of Britain have caused much debate over recent months, with many officials and MPs expressing their concern over the areas that are unable to get adequate broadband access. Many rural areas have been identified as being ‘not spots’ where there are problems with the availability of and access to broadband, and this is affecting not only residents of these areas but also businesses.

One MP, Anne McIntosh, MP for the Vale of York and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Thirsk and Malton, said recently that the problem is continuing in these rural areas, and she expressed her concern and dissatisfaction over the issue. She said: “Over the past number of years I have asked a number of parliamentary questions about broadband and internet access in rural areas.”

She also stated: “In July 2009 I sent a letter to the Chief Executive of BT requesting further information about broadband availability in North Yorkshire. BT, responding to my letter, said that 99% of all businesses and households are within reach of a broadband enabled exchange. Despite my specific request, BT declined to give a precise figure for how many customers in North Yorkshire live in ‘not spots’. BT did disclose that around 1% of lines do not support ASDL broadband. This could amount to as many 100,000 lines being in broadband ‘not spots’. The vast majority of these ‘not spots’ will be in rural areas.”

McIntosh concluded: “Those living in rural areas face a real struggle to receive high-quality, high-speed broadband. An Ofcom report released in July showed that those living in urban areas receive an average download speed of 4.3 Mbit/s.

The comparable figure for those living in rural areas was 3.3 Mbit/s. Part of the reason for this gap was revealed by the Chief Executive of Ofcom, Ed Richards, in a response to one of my parliamentary questions. Mr Richards disclosed that cable broadband is available to 54% of the urban households in the Yorkshire & Humber region, but that only 29% of rural households can access this technology. The broadband speed gap needs to be closed.”

Source – Politics.co.uk