Government criticised over broadband in rural areas

According to a recent report the government in the UK has been criticised over the harm it could cause to rural businesses and industry.

The UK’s government has recently been criticised over the harm it could be causing to the UK’s businesses and industry in rural areas according to recent reports. The Country Land and Business Association, or CLA, has been criticising the government over its investment, or lack of, in next generation broadband in these areas.

There has also been a report from the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) that recommended that the government did not invest in next generation broadband, and according to the report this has been descirned has ‘seriously blinkered’ by the CLA, which claims that investment in needed in order to improve next generation broadband in such areas.

The group claims that people’s jobs and uindustry as a whole could be affected by the failure of the government to invest, based on how pivotal the Internet has become to the business world. The group said: ‘Universal fast broadband is not just for games and videos, it means industry and jobs.’

Officials from the group added: ‘Some rural areas are already disadvantaged by existing broadband provision, which not only affects existing businesses but also stops new enterprises relocating and creating employment.’

The report goes on to state that many people in rural areas are having to cope with dial up connections because they still have no access to broadband, with over one million households still thought to be using this technology in the UK. Officials have said that without the fast connections required for technology such as VoIP phones many businesses could suffer as a result of lack of investment.