Broadband: Prime Minister raises more questions than answers says Final Third First

New broadband campaign group Final Third First says that today’s announcement on superfast broadband from the Prime Minister simply raises more questions than answers.

A spokesman for Final Third First said: “Of course, everyone in the country should have access to superfast broadband, that’s a no-brainer. But how is it going to be achieved ? We find it ironic that the Prime Minister is talking about a digital divide when one already exists. The Prime Minister said ‘just imagine if you were not part of that (broadband) world.’ Unfortunately many of us are in exactly that situation.

“One third of the country cannot receive a basic level of broadband, and no one has access to superfast speeds of at least 100 Mb/ps.  This stark fact appears to have been overlooked again, putting more financial pressure on business at a time they should be re-investing – something that broadband enabled businesses are continuing to do.

“If the Government is serious about putting all public services online through a mygov portal, it is incumbent on Ministers to ensure that all can benefit. Certainly, at the moment, this is not the case and we believe that without proper joined up thinking and effective public intervention, the Government’s vision will never be realised.

“There remains no strategy in place that we can see to make the Prime Minister’s statement work. That is why Final Third First is calling for the areas without broadband access to be enabled first, with Next Generation Fibre for the next generation of children’s education, elderly healthcare, and for next generation businesses. This means a commitment from all parties to deliver superfast broadband to all UK properties. ”

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Notes to editors

1.                   The founding members of The Final Third First Campaign are: Country Land and Business Association, Digital Dales, Neil Blake (Ewelme Parish Council), Wray Community Communications, Pitchup.com, Vtesse Networks, Rutland Telecom, Broadband Britain, NextGenUs, County Broadband, Richard Hull (Chair 3-C Ltd and RATS Ltd), Bob Franklin (Telcoconsulting.co.uk), Community Lincs, ACRE, Plunkett Foundation.

2.                   If you would like to join the Final Third First campaign please contact Charles Trotman (charles.trotman@cla.org.uk)

3.                   For further information, please contact Charles Trotman on 0207 460 7939 or 07702 926059

Dr Charles Trotman

Head of Rural Business Development

Country Land and Business Association

16 Belgrave Square

London SW1X 8PQ

Tel: 0207 460 7939

E-mail: Charles.Trotman@cla.org.uk