UK - Review of rural broadband calls for more action and increased funding

Farmers Weekly has returned to its campaign Battling for Broadband which it ran in April 2012. It aimed to raise awareness of the "lack of adequate broadband in rural areas".

On the government's scheme to provide rural broadband, it quotes Charles Trotman, head of rural business development at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA):

The funding process has been horrendously complex...

For communities to match fund you're talking a lot of money and, in theory, they're supposed to have it completed by 2015 ... It could have been a lot easier.

FW complains that BT will pick up more than 40 local contracts, with 18 already signed.

The government has put aside £20m of which £10m came from DEFRA and the other £10m comes from the BDUK fund, which it will be allocated to community-run projects.

According to a DEFRA study, 92% of farmers had broadband, only 32% of had speeds of over 2Mbps, with 6% still using dial-up technology.