CCP wants high speed broadband rolled out to not spot areas asap

It has been reported that the Communications Consumer Panel wants the government to roll out super-fast broadband to not spot areas across the country as soon as possible.

For residents and businesses in not spot areas of the UK, which are areas where there is little or no broadband or Internet access, life can be very difficult, as they do not have access to the same resources and benefits as those living and working in areas where there is higher speed broadband available. This is something that the Labour government has been promising to rectify as part of its universal broadband rollout.

According to recent reports the Communications Consumer Panel has stated that the government needs to work on rolling out super-fast broadband to not spot areas as soon as possible, stating that access in these areas is ‘imperative’ to complement market-led initiatives. However, the group said that public subsidies should not be used as an alternative to market led initiatives, and should therefore only be used in certain areas.

Many business officials and campaign groups in more remote and rural areas have been expressing concern about how the lack of internet access in these areas is having a negative effect, with examples such as businesses having to leave the areas to go to areas where there is better broadband access and younger people failing to settle in rural areas because of lack of broadband and internet access.

An official from the Communications Consumer Panel said that the group supported the government in rolling out higher speed broadband to not spot areas, stating: “The panel supports the government’s intention to stimulate the roll-out of super-fast broadband to the third of the population the market is unlikely to reach.”

Source – Cable