UK’s rural communities losing out in push to superfast broadband

Rural farms, businesses and homes are at risk of being left behind in the push to connect the rest of Britain to superfast Internet services. rural communities are being overlooked by companies pushing to upgrade by 2017.

“People living in the hard-to-reach 5 per cent of premises need the same access as the rest to online and digital services,” said Anne McIntosh, Parliament’s environment, food and rural affairs committee chair. The effort to connect most of the country could leave some with little or no ability to use government services that are switching online-only.