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Report Finds Rural Wales Communities Most Frustrated by Lack of Fast Broadband

Posted: 11th Jul, 2011 By: MarkJ
wales uk broadband mapuk wales flagThe Wales Office, which claims to represent Welsh interests within the UK Government and supports the Secretary of State for Wales, has today released its new Rural Economy Taskforce report. The study found that a lack of adequate broadband connections and 'Not-Spots' in some of the most rural parts of Wales remains one of the "biggest frustrations for local communities" and businesses.

The Wales Office Minister and Taskforce leader, David Jones MP (Conservative), constructed the report after visiting rural, farming and agricultural communities across the country to discuss their concerns and needs. His report found that 40% of those who can access broadband in rural areas could not get speeds over 2Mbps, while one third of farmers couldn't access broadband at all.

Ofcom's recently released interactive UK map of fixed line broadband ISP availability, adoption and performance (here) reported last week that 19% of Wales received speeds of less than 2Mbps and just 31% were able to access a superfast (25Mbps+) service. The average modem sync speed (not an accurate reflection of slower real-world performance) also stood at 6.5Mbps, which is below the UK average of 7.5Mbps.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones MP, said:

"The feedback we received for the Rural Economy Taskforce Report showed that local communities and businesses are becoming more and more reliant on effective broadband coverage. However, in rural areas, broadband speeds are often extremely slow and sometimes nonexistent. Last week’s Ofcom report highlighted the scale of the challenge we face, with north, mid and west of Wales ranking among the worst areas of Britain for this vital infrastructure.

This Government recognises reliable broadband is one of the most important highways to growth in the 21st century. In February, the Chancellor and Welsh Secretary announced a £10mn investment in superfast broadband for the Pwllheli area.

There will be more UK Government money to come so that other areas can benefit too from improved broadband speeds to ensure the whole of Wales and the rest of the UK have the best broadband network in Europe by 2015. We are committed to breaking down the barriers to effective communications in rural areas, helping farmers, households and businesses across Wales."

Sadly the report itself spends far too much time generalising the situation and attempting to sell "Big Society principles" than actually proposing any clearly defined remedies. As a result its practical worth is somewhat questionable.

Meanwhile the Welsh Assembly Government's (WAG) 'Digital Wales' strategy hopes to bring "super-fast" (30Mbps) broadband to all businesses by the middle of 2016, with access for households by 2020. WAG has already begun the official procurement process for this (here) and the UK government is widely expect to release more funds from its Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) office to assist.
Wales Rural Economy Taskforce Report (PDF)
http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/files/2011/07/Rural-Economy.pdf
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