Broadband vouchers 'should be available to rural firms'

The government's business broadband voucher scheme should be extended so that rural companies can also access the scheme, a new report by MPs recommends.

According to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the current programme is "unbalanced" due to the fact that only organisations in urban areas can access the money.

Up to £3,000 is available for companies based in cities that want to upgrade their business broadband connections to make them faster and more reliable.

MPs noted that "the allocation of funding between urban and rural areas is greatly unbalanced" and stated that there is need for a date to be set for universal superfast access.

BT recently announced the rollout of ultrafast broadband technology in two pilot areas, with the scheme to be extended across the country at a later date if it is deemed to be a success.

"Rural areas are lagging behind," said the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

"Those in poorly connected areas are sometimes asked to pay twice: once through their taxes... and potentially again from their own pockets if the BDUK programme does not reach them."

However, the government pointed out that it is investing £1.7 billion in the rollout of business broadband technology to rural parts of the UK and insisted it is on target to hit its goals.

A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport stated that the £1.7 billion is "significantly more than what we have made available to cities, and reflects the importance this government places on taking faster and more reliable broadband to rural areas".

The government has also announced the publication of new details of over 13,000 miles of publicly owned digital infrastructure and explained how this is boosting connectivity.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude said: "Our new maps reveal taxpayer-funded networks stretching right across the country. We will work with providers to exploit spare capacity while joining-up our own approach, so more people can access high-speed broadband."

Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.

(Image: Kings Sutton)