Fibre-optic broadband a no go in rural areas

Lord Carter, the communications minister, confirmed that there would be “no economic case” for building a fibre-optic broadband network in up to 30% of the country. The locations that will be excluded are rural areas, which are already inundated by broadband coverage problems.
Rural businesses are hardest hit by the fall in consumer spending. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, one in three small firms in rural areas is concerned over their prospects of survival over the next six months.
Marketing manager of Top 10 Broadband, Jessica McArdle, confirms: “The government is restricting the growth of small rural businesses by failing to improve broadband coverage in more remote areas; it’s a scandal that so much of the country will be left out of the fibre-optic broadband roll-out.”
Consumers within the city can already enjoy speeds of up to 50Mb. Under Lord Carter’s proposals, the government would plug the gaps in rural areas with mobile broadband. However, currently 3G mobile broadband networks can only provide maximum speeds of up to 4.5Mb in rural areas.