The Lib/Con coalition's Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, has officially stated that the government will "prioritise the roll-out of broadband to rural neighbourhoods", thus effectively adopting an 'outside-in' approach to superfast fibre optic internet access development around the country.

Spelman also plans to go one step further by calling UK broadband internet service providers (ISPs) together for a major summit, which will seek to develop a plan for tackling the problem. However it is not yet known when this might take place.


It's promising to see a firm direction beginning to take shape, although the announcement was perhaps to be expected. BT already plans to cover 66% with its fibre optic based broadband services, while Virgin Media can already reach half of the country with its predominantly coax cable platform. Needless to say that the remaining 30% (aka - The Final Third) is often made up of remote and rural locations, with a few suburban exceptions.