Despite Ofcom crowing that the digital divide between town and country was closing rapidly – thanks, no doubt, to their insightful regulation cultivating a climate conducive to competition – others aren’t so swayed. Whilst take-up certainly has increased, speed, it seems, hasn’t.
The Country Land & Business Association (CLA), and thousands of other rural residents have rubbished the claim, with the CLA saying that the Ofcom report “beggars belief”, saying that the document “fails to take into account that broadband connections often do not deliver the high speeds advertised, and also that many rural businesses cannot get broadband at all because they are too far from their local telephone exchange”.
“Suggestions that the broadband divide has closed are simply not true,” said William Worsley, CLA deputy president. “The digital divide is about availability, and the fact remains that, in a significant number of rural areas, ADSL broadband access is simply not available. The existing internet access speeds are often appallingly slow, hitting the viability of businesses.”
“We are worried that anyone reading coverage of the Ofcom report will get a distorted view of the true picture… Everything is not rosy with broadband in the countryside, despite Ofcom’s wanton optimism,” he added.
On Monday, an Ofcom spokesperson defended the report; “All we stated was that rural households now have overtaken urban homes when it comes to broadband take-up, ending this particular geographical divide. That is not to say that other divides will not appear in the future – differences in broadband speeds between urban and rural areas, for example.”
“However, it is entirely appropriate to report, with firm statistical evidence, that 59 percent of rural households now have broadband, compared to 57 percent of urban households, which is a significant turnaround,” Ofcom’s spokesperson concluded.
Similar Posts: