CLA disappointed over delay in rural broadband

Rural organisation, the Country, Land, and Business Association, has recently expressed how disappointed it is with the delay in the universal broadband rollout as announced by the coalition .

Following pledges by the former Labour government about the rollout of universal broadband in Britain, which was then supported by the new coalition government, one rural organisation has expressed disappointment over the government’s u-turn about when the universal broadband rollout will be completed.

The original date for the rollout was by 2012, and this was something that the former Labour government had put in place and that the new coalition government was planning to honour. However, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt recently stated that Labour had not allocated enough money for this to be completed by the given deadline.

Hunt said that the date for completion of the universal broadband rollout would now most likely be around 2015. However, one organisation, the County, Land, and Business Association, has expressed its disappointment in the delay, as it had hoped that those living and working in rural areas would be able to get broadband access more quickly.

William Worsley, president of the organisation, described the decision of the new government as a setback, stating that many areas were desperately in need of affordable broadband service, many of these being rural areas. He stated: “Without universal broadband it will become far harder for rural business to compete effectively with businesses in urban areas, many of which already have access to far faster speeds than 2Mbps.”

Source – Cable