Calling on Govt to lead the way in bridging the gap on Next Generation Access in rural England
- Posted on:
- Tuesday, 23rd June 2009 at 12:31pm
Today we're launching 'Mind the Gap: Digital England - a rural perspective', the rural contribution to Lord Carter's Digital Britain report. It includes recommendations to Government to ensure an effective and sustainable communications future for rural England and identifies four key areas that must be tackled as a priority:
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education and lifelong learning
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business development
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social and community cohesion
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equitable access to services
The Prime Minster has welcomed the report as:
"a timely and welcome contribution to the national debate on the future of Digital Britain. Digital technology in rural areas is helping businesses to grow, and is transforming lives, communities and jobs. Access to the best technology available is as essential to rural areas as it is to urban."
“Universal access to broadband is central to government’s plans to deliver services and information, both nationally and locally. We must ensure that everyone is able to benefit from the advantages of new technologies both now and in the future.”
Lord Carter also welcomed the report:
"The CRC’s report rightly highlights the need to ensure rural communities aren't left behind as the rest of the UK enjoys the benefits of digital technologies, both social and economic."
"In the Digital Britain report we have pledged to deliver quality broadband access to every home, every community and every business across the country, by 2012. We have also announced a new fund to help bring Next Generation, super-fast broadband to the third of the country that we know the market won't reach on its own. Together these two firm commitments will help ensure that Digital Britain does not become a two-tier Britain. The Government will do all it can to bridge the access gap for rural areas and we urge communities and industry to join us in that effort."
Broadband is bringing social, economic and cultural benefits to rural people but just as the first digital divide was being addressed, new services and demands are putting increased strain on existing infrastructure.
Rural users are frustrated by the lack of speed and reliability of existing services. Those unable to access broadband are excluded from what, for a large section of the population, are now basic services. Digital technology can also help tackle social and economic disadvantage in rural areas.
We support Government’s commitment to universal service at 2Mbps by 2012, but moves to fund Next Generation Access are also welcome, as we firmly believe that first generation broadband is unlikely to be capable of meeting the needs of a large proportion of rural areas.
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