Today's episode of the popular BBC TV consumer affairs show, Rip Off Britain (Series 3, Episode 8), has contributed the first 10 minutes or so of its programme to investigating the problems of expensive and slow broadband internet access in rural areas.

The episode does a good job of highlighting the problems from a consumer perspective and mentions future superfast broadband improvements. It also points to the fact that remote and rural residents often feel unfairly treated because they're asked to pay the same or more than everybody else but still get less (i.e. slower speeds) in return.

In fairness it's worth remembering that broadband is a shared "Best Efforts" service where most, but not all ISPs, try to adopt a simple pricing structure for everybody. The BBC fails to mention that if this didn't happen then many of those in related areas would actually pay more because it costs more to reach them (smaller/slower return on a provider's investment).

BBC iPlayer - Rip Off Britain (Series 3, Episode 8)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0186d7z/Rip_Off_Britain_Series_3_Episode_8/