Poor broadband hampering rural businesses
Poor broadband hampering rural businesses
Low quality broadband is hindering businesses in rural areas, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned.
Speaking last week, the campaign group for small UK businesses urged local authorities and broadband suppliers to do more in addressing the lack of high-speed connections in the British countryside. Specifically, the North Yorkshire chairman for the FSB Simon Williams told the Yorkshire Post that small enterprises, which are the driving force behind rural economies and key contributors to the UK’s improving economic fortunes, are still heavily disadvantaged by internet speeds compared to their urban counterparts.
The call from Mr Williams for better broadband services was supported by a poll from thinkbroadband.com. This research found that only 40.6 per cent of the 1,150 people surveyed who were responding as a business or mixed business/residential user thought their broadband was “fit for purpose”.
The UK government’s superfast broadband plans are targeting both cities and rural areas, trying to rollout faster and more reliable connections to aid both businesses and households alike. As part of this scheme businesses can apply for vouchers with which they can purchase their broadband services.
However, while there has been large investment into this project and positive results are starting to be seen, the FSB has argued that more needs to be done.
Mr Williams has urged for local councils to be more proactive in addressing the problem. He said: "This includes local authorities being innovative and flexible in their use of business rates, creative and forward-thinking in their approach to parking and market town regeneration, and delivering a planning system that is responsive to small businesses' needs.”
The FSB has also stressed that small businesses must use their own initiative by taking advantage of the government’s connection voucher scheme to improve their internet connections.
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