Earlier last week, the government announced that the long standing target to bring 2 Mbps broadband within reach of everyone in the UK will not be happening in 2012 as had been previously hoped and would be delayed by 3 years. While this isn’t a massive surprise to many, it’s still a hit for the UK broadband community as a whole and has made those affected by the choice upset and disappointed in the lack of funding and commitment from the government. Funnily enough, the 2015 date just happens to coincide with the end of this parliament, too.
More affected by this news than most are those living in rural areas which have been marked as broadband not-spots. Consumer Focus (CF) and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) have both told the public of their disappointment of the news of the delay.
Broadband Expert at Consumer Focus, Jillian Pitt, said:
“We are, however, disappointed that the time-table to provide a universal 2mbps broadband connection has been pushed back to 2015. Also, the Coalition Agreement itself acknowledged there are areas where the market alone will not reach. We would like to see a clear Government plan on what happens when this is the case. We would like to be reassured the estimated £250 million under-spend from the Digital Switchover budget will be enough to tackle this issue.”
While CLA President William Worsley was even more frustrated by the news:
“The Government needs to recognise that broadband can act as a fundamental driver in propelling the UK out of its current financial situation. This will be put in jeopardy if we have to wait an additional three years before everyone can gain adequate broadband coverage.”
In some cases using internet without phone line services like mobile broadband might be an option, depending on coverage. It seems the only way rural areas are likely to enjoy any sort of coverage in the next five years will be to set up their own community networks or rely on satellite broadband coverage. These are both viable options, but only if you have the support or funding to set them up. There are some schemes available to people living in Wales without broadband to get funding from the government, but in other areas of the UK this unfortunately is not the case.