CityFibre Survey Claims 8 Percent of UK Farms Still Have No Broadband

Network operator CityFibre, which recently appointed Censuswide to conduct a nationwide survey of UK farmers, has claimed that 8% of farms do not have any internet connectivity at all and yet almost two-thirds of farmers surveyed (60%) believe broadband is critical for day-to-day farming activities.

The survey says it “raises real concerns that UK farms are being held back due to poor internet connectivity“. Despite almost 60% of farmers expecting their use of technology to increase over the next 5 years, issues around reliability and speed of internet connection were cited as the second biggest barrier (42%) to their use of new farming technologies, after purchasing cost (50%).

Meanwhile, for those who already have access to full fibre (FTTP) broadband, some 47% said the main benefit was the use of precision farming technologies that were previously unavailable to them, with greater efficiency in day-to-day operations (37%), diversification of farmland (33%) and greater access to administration tools (32%) also cited as key benefits.

However, the risks associated with poor internet connectivity go beyond day-to-day operations, with mental health and family life also impacted. The survey highlights the impact of social isolation among rural communities, with farmers feeling they miss out on local community matters as a result of broadband issues. Meanwhile, 9-in-10 farmers admit to avoiding using the internet during busy times of the day, causing disruption to daily schedules.

Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre, said:

“Farmers need access to the cream of the crop when it comes to connectivity, if we are going to reap the full economic and technological benefits of Britain’s farms.

Government initiatives such as Project Gigabit are helping to bring faster internet access to rural and harder-to-reach communities and we know the difference that full fibre makes, which is why our teams are hard at work, laying miles of cable and climbing countless telegraph poles to bring faster, better broadband to millions of people.”

Rachel Hallos, NFU Vice President, said:

“To confidently produce more home-grown food we need to be as efficient and productive as possible. Reliable internet and mobile access are key to achieving this. Lack of connectivity not only impacts the day-to-day operations of rural businesses but also the safety of our workforce. Leaving a farmer with no way of communicating in a crisis is dangerous, and this lack of access is preventing UK farmers and growers from doing what they do best – running successful and profitable food producing businesses.

Better internet access can unlock greater productivity, growth and investment into the rural economy, especially at a time when businesses are being required to meet more of their legal and regulatory obligations online.”

The survey appears to be intended to underline the expected benefits of CityFibre’s ten contracts with the Government’s Project Gigabit scheme, which are worth around £900m in state aid and will enable the operator to reach more than 500,000 homes and businesses in hard-to-reach rural areas. This rises to 1.3 million premises, over the next 5 years, when the operator’s private investment is included (overall total of £1.2bn in public and private funding).

However, it should be said that not all farms strictly need a full fibre connection in order to be able to function properly, with many still being able to benefit from a “superfast broadband” (30Mbps+) service. Ofcom states that 98% of the UK can access such a service today, which rises to 99% in urban areas and falls to 89% in rural ones. The gap left to fill is getting smaller, but there’s clearly plenty of work left to do. Mobile, satellite and fixed wireless providers also have a role to play here.

Censuswide surveyed, online, a total sample size was 250 UK farmers between 11th and 17th February 2025.