The conservatives pledge of free broadband for all welcomed by the CLA

A statement made by David Cameron, the Leader of the Opposition, that said the deployment of a fibre optic broadband network that by 2018 would every home in the UK would be something the conservatives would be happy to facilitate.

The deployment of such a network would, however, require investment from the public sector warned the CLA. The director of CLA North, Douglas Chalmers said “It is good to know that all the major parties are now supporting what we have been calling for over the last six years – high speed communications for all via a fibre optic network. But we believe Mr Cameron could go further in helping the nirvana of UK-wide fibre optic broadband become more than a dream by making a commitment to significant public investment.

Fibre optic in rural areas would be a huge step towards reducing the current social and economic divide resulting from an often poor – and sometimes unavailable – broadband service. As both the public and private sector encourage us to do business on-line, it is clear that investment from both the public and private sector is the only way forward.

At a time when we must encourage and actively support businesses to kick-start our country’s economy, we must ensure that rural businesses have the ability to perform and compete against anyone, wherever they are”. It has yet to be made clear by either of the political party leader how the requirement for investment from the public sector will be handled and both sides are talking generally about “investment”, which could mean practically anything.

The need for at least some degree of public funds for the rollout of a truly universal fibre broadband is the only thing that most people agree on but this comes as no surprise as the current cost of such a deployment is set to cost billions.