The Government's £400million broadband invest fails to benefit the countryside

The Government's ambition to deliver full fibre broadband is to be lauded and the announcement today (3 July 2017) of the £400million Digital Investment Fund to unlock over £1billion is welcome news for those who are going to benefit.

This fund will support the rollout of cutting edge connections and drive economies forward but will mainly benefit those living in urban areas. It has been widely accepted that fibre to the home technology will be impossible to deliver to most rural areas.

Sarah Lee, Head of Policy, Countryside Alliance said:

"The unlocking of this funding to deliver fibre to the home will be a huge boost to those who benefit but the fund will fail to deliver broadband to the final 5% in the countryside where there is already market failure.

"Once again rural communities are being treated as second class citizens and are missing out on this important boost to the economy. To deliver high speed broadband to the countryside we need to embrace and support the development of alternative technologies and not just focus on fibre."