Government still have no plan to deliver broadband in the hardest to reach communities

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) released a report which has once again shone a light on how poorly treated rural communities are when it comes to getting broadband. The report highlighted concerns from the PAC that the Government will not meet its downgraded targets for the increasingly critical rollout of superfast, "gigabit" broadband, and is relying too heavily on commercial contractors for the progress that has been made.

Chair of the PAC, Dame Meg Hillier, says "What DCMS does know full well is it can't rely on the private sector to get fast broadband to the hardest to reach, excluded and rural areas … and despite its repeated promises to do exactly that, we are apparently little nearer to closing 'the great digital divide' developing across the UK, nor addressing the social and economic inequality it brings with it."

DCMS reports that the proportion of premises in the United Kingdom with access to gigabit broadband leapt from 40% to 57% between May and October 2021 but this is largely due to Virgin Media O2 upgrading its cable network, and the Committee says DCMS "has made little tangible progress in delivering internet connectivity beyond that achieved by the private sector".

Sarah Lee, Countryside Alliance Director of Policy, said, "Once again those living in rural communities are being left behind and this failure to deliver superfast connectivity is only widening the social and economic gap. The Government talks of 'levelling up' yet this is clearly not applicable to those living in rural communities."

The Government campaigned on a manifesto pledge which promised full-fibre to every UK home by 2025. This was soon downgraded once elected to a promise to reach 85% of homes with gigabit enabled broadband.

Its long-term strategy for broadband access by 2030 will still see 134,000 premises in the hardest to reach areas left unconnected as they are not commercially viable. They will have to rely on alternative technologies to connect them to the internet. The PAC made the point that DCMS has no detailed plan in place for reaching communities where it is not commercially viable to do so.

Broadband is widely recognised as an essential service, which has seen demand surge during the pandemic for reliable high-speed connectivity as we worked from home and home schooled.