The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) has released a new report, ‘Mind the Gap – Digital England: a rural perspective’, in which it outlined a series of recommendations to the government to ensure that the rural England is not left behind in the broadband access.
Last week, the government has released its Digital Britain guide, a report on the future of Britain’s digital infrastructure in which it confirmed an intention to deliver the Universal Service Broadband Commitment at 2Mbps by 2012.
In the report, the CRC called upon the government to lead the way in bridging the gap on ‘Next Generation Access’ for rural areas. It notified that at present, 42% of rural homes in the UK are struggling with broadband speeds that are below 2Mbps.
The report includes independent analysis of rural connectivity issues. It also identifies four key areas – education and lifelong learning, business development, social and community cohesion, and equitable access to services – which it believes must be tackled as a priority.
Graham Russell, CRC executive director, said: “We urge Government to lead the way in bridging the gap for rural communities on Next Generation Access but recognise it cannot do this alone. We must all work together to ensure we remain economically competitive, with quality services and support mechanisms for all, regardless of locality.
The CRC is firmly committed to working with Government and others to ensure rural communities play their full part in the digital revolution.”
The report also made several other recommendations to ensure that rural homes keep up broadband pace with urban regions.
