Hi-speed Broadband Should Cover Rural Areas Too, Says Report

When it comes to providing 2Mb broadband connectivity for every user across Britain, the rural areas shouldn’t be left behind, according to a new report ‘Mind the Gap - Digital England, a rural perspective’, published by the Commission for Rural Communities.

The report says that government should have a constructive plan in place to extend broadband facility to communities residing in rural areas. The report recommends supporting the 40 community-based broadband schemes spread across the UK that operate under a representative organisation named The Independent Networks Co-operative Association.

The CRC also warns that the hubbub created by the government promising 2 Mb connection in 36 months may force the public to believe 2 Mb to be the ultimate digital experience, when the actual targets should be much more ambitious than that. The cities are moving forward with super fast broadband connections, but for rural areas even 2Mb is a dream right now.

Meanwhile, the proposed imposition of the ‘broadband tax‘an idea suggested by the Digital Britain Reporthas been taken with a pinch of salt by many organizations. One uncomfortable question that the government finds itself facing from the CRC report is whether the levy will indeed generate enough revenue for the government to invest in its grandiose plan of restructuring broadband network across the UK.