04 Jul 2018

LGA calls for a bigger role in tackling the rural connectivity gap

The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for more post-Brexit powers to deal with a number of issues faced by rural England including patchy mobile and broadband connectivity that cuts off businesses’ access to new markets.

The LGA has set up a Post-Brexit England Commission to examine the challenges and opportunities faced by non-metropolitan England and it today published an interim report, “The future of non-metropolitan England: Moving the conversation on”, which notes that one in five rural homes built in the last three years is still not connected to “superfast broadband” and calls for a new Fibre to the Premises Kitemark to reduce confusion in the marketplace.

The LGA highlights recent figures from Ofcom that indicate that 60 per cent of rural premises can receive an outdoor 4G signal from all operators, falling to 19 per cent for indoor coverage and is concerned by a recent disclosure that the mobile network operators’ obligations (as set by the UK government) “will not be of sufficient strength or capacity to support the needs of modern day smartphone users”.

The Association also cited a report that puts the current cost from constraints to digital adoption for rural businesses, especially small and micro-businesses, at up to £26 billion in lost gross value added.