Poor broadband could drive people to move home, MP warns
Families and businesses in rural Yorkshire have joined the calls for the Government to invest further in satellite broadband to help service the black spots that currently cannot access superfast broadband.
It has been feared that people living or working in rural parts of Britain that have poor internet connections could leave these areas to move to places that have better broadband infrastructure.
Speaking in the House of Commons on the behalf of people in the Yorkshire Dales, MP for Richmond, Rishi Sunak, has stressed that satellite technology must be considered as a solution for the most remote areas, despite the cost, The Yorkshire Post reported.
While the Government says it is on track to achieve its target of getting 95 per cent of Britain access to superfast broadband by 2017, there are still concerns of what will happen to the final five per cent. This five per cent are typically located in the most rural, hard-to-reach parts of the UK, which makes it very costly to lay the necessary infrastructure to service the area.
Mr Sunak said: “This Government is committed to being a one-nation Government bringing opportunity to every part of this country, but if we are truly to build an inclusive society and economy that spreads opportunity to our great rural areas as well as our cities, we must ensure that broadband is there to turn those aspirations into reality.
“I join colleagues in urging that the summit happen as soon as possible with continued efforts to bring broadband to every part of the country.”
Substantial progress has been made in Richmond, however; five years ago only 50 per cent of homes and business had access to superfast broadband, while today that figure is almost 80 per cent. Nevertheless, the MP wanted to ensure no parts of the town were left behind, and has suggested that satellite broadband is considered as one of the solutions to get broadband to the black spots.
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(Image: Richmond, North Yorkshire)
