Rural communities in the UK are at risk of becoming the “have nots” in a superfast broadband world and could find it difficult or impossible to use government services that are increasingly only available online, according to UK MPs.
A report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on rural broadband and digital-only services said it was “concerned to hear BT tell us that the present target of 95% of premises receiving superfast broadband by 2017 may slip.”
The report noted that Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), which is in charge of implementing the 95% target set by the government, “must make it clear that the target date must be met. A target date for when the last 5% of premises will obtain access to superfast broadband coverage must be published.”
Committee chair Anne McIntosh told the Financial Times that people living in the “hard-to-reach 5% of premises” need the same access as the rest of the country.
Indeed, the report notes that the move this year to an online-only Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) system for payments “provides a clear example of how online-only services often need to be accessed by those located in geographical areas which are difficult for current broadband infrastructure to reach or for good coverage and speed to be provided.”
The report said it is concerned that the government’s move towards digital-by-default services is premature, and is based on an incorrect assumption that delivery of basic broadband coverage (2 Mbps) is complete.
The UK government is investing more than £1 billion in subsidising the rollout of broadband at speeds of 24 Mbps to 95% of premises by 2017, with work already under way by BT to meet the target.
For example, in August last year BT switched on its first fibre-connected cabinet in rural Isle of Wight as part of the BDUK programme.
