Broadband delays threaten rural business - CLA

"Broken promises" on the provision of high-speed broadband connections in rural areas have become a major threat to business life in the countryside, according to a withering report by the Country Landowners and Business Association.

Some years ago, the CLA led a nationwide battle against BT to update its rural telephone exchanges to take modern broadband equipment. BT finally agreed - but the association now claims that many promises made then have been broken.

Findings from a CLA survey portray a countryside where "broadband is becoming increasingly unreliable at a time when rural-based businesses need it most."

CLA President Henry Aubrey-Fletcher claims that rural businesses could not survive without a competitive broadband service, and would either relocate to urban areas or cease to trade. The organisation is now calling for high level talks to level the playing field between rural and urban enterprise.

"The CLA was the only national organisation to campaign for BT to roll out broadband coverage to rural areas," says Mr. Aubrey-Fletcher.

"We succeeded - and it is no exaggeration to say that without our pressure, rural areas would not enjoy the levels of broad band coverage they do today. But it has not moved on and our research shows that the broadband service on offer simply does not meet the demands of modern businesses."

The survey alleges:

• Businesses are having to pay for the full cost of broadband when sometimes only half - or less - of the advertised connection speed is available;
• Respondents felt that customer service is poor, particularly when the call centre fails to understand the problems involved;
• Communication between Internet Service Providers and their customers remains poor and in some cases, non-existent;
• There remains, in practical terms, little genuine competition in the rural market.
• Rural businesses have not been able to piggy-back onto public sector broadband availability despite assurances that this would be the case.

Douglas Chalmers, Director CLA North said: "Broadband has brought many benefits to the countryside, with a range of hi-tech, low-impact businesses creating new opportunities and wealth in small rural communities, but we cannot stop campaigning until we have blanket access. Where we once had a digital divide between urban and rural areas, we are experiencing a digital divide between communities, and even between neighbors."