Rural Vulnerability Service

RURAL BROADBAND - August 2017

Better broadband - and the lack of it - is the focus of this newsletter from the Rural Vulnerability Service, brought to you by the Rural England Community Interest Company and the Rural Services Network in association with Calor.

The Rural Vulnerability Service disseminates information about key rural issues.

Rural businesses and communities continue to face challenges in terms of broadband, with some villages taking matters into their own hands in a bid to get adequate connections.

The topic has rarely been bigger or more pressing.

B4RN East Anglia scheme aims to get communities connected to fast broadband
18 August 2017
Rural businesses struggling with sluggish internet speeds will have the chance to take matters into their own hands after the launch of a community-led project in the region. (EADT)

Broadband speed is non-existent in Ribble Valley
9 August 2017
BUSINESSES and politicians are furious about the lack of fast broadband in an East Lancashire borough. (Lancashire Telegraph)

MP Grant Shapps’ publishes new “Broadbad 2.0” report on state of UK broadband
23 July 2017
MP Grant Shapps’ has published the latest “Broadbad 2.0” report and Andrew Ferguson, editor of thinkbroadband.com, offered his analysis. (Business Matters)

Plans to spread digital growth to rural areas
23 July 2017
Rural England and Scotland’s Rural College are launching a consultation which will attempt to discover how best to support the digital economy in the UK’s regions. (The Telegraph)

UK broadband ranked 31st in world for speed
8 August 2017
Broadband in Blighty ranks 31st in the world, with average speeds of 16.51Mbps, according to a comprehensive analysis. (The Register)

Broadband deal is hampering superfast ambitions
29 August 2017
Rural Scotland’s chances of getting a good universal broadband speed are being hampered by the UK government, a Scottish minister has claimed. (The Times)

Top 5 broadband questions answered
14 August 2017
Broadband expert Daniel Heery answers the Top Five most frequently asked questions by delegates at rural events. (Rural Services Network)

Broadband upgrades for a million forgotten homes
15 July 2017
BT’s network subsidiary Openreach is close to a deal with the Government to deliver broadband upgrades to more than a million rural homes. (The Telegraph) 

Welshman gets broadband via satellite over Africa
30 July 2017
Slow rural broadband has prompted one man in Wales to get his internet from a satellite 22,000 miles above Africa. (BBC Online)

Rural broadband upgrade plan 'legally questionable', says TalkTalk
9 August 2017
A scheme to ensure rural Britons can get decent broadband is under threat after TalkTalk branded it "legally questionable" over plans to allow BT to recover costs through higher wholesale charges. (The Telegraph)

West Highlands 'worst in UK for broadband'
29 July 2017
The parliamentary constituency of Ross, Skye and Lochaber is the worst area in the UK for broadband, new figures show. (BBC Online)

Government announces £200m funding for rural broadband and farm productivity
31 July 2017
The government is making available £200 million in rural grants to support broadband and investment in new farm facilities and machinery. (Horticulture Week)

BT’s rural broadband offer snubs farmers
1 August 2017
Thousands of farmers in the most isolated rural areas would be left without high-speed broadband in an offer put forward by BT Openreach. (Farmers Weekly)

BT's rural broadband deal 'to send bills soaring'
29 July 2017
Broadband bills are due to rise after the Government proposed to let BT include the costs of providing a decent internet service to millions of rural Britons in its wholesale prices. (The Telegraph)