Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they estimate that residents living in rural areas will be able to access the same broadband speeds as customers living in cities and towns.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Government recognises that customers in rural areas currently experience, on average, lower broadband speeds than those in urban areas.
This is why the Government is investing £780 million to deliver superfast broadband, mostly targeted at rural areas where it would not otherwise be available if left to the commercial sector. Superfast broadband is available to 80% of UK premises and we aim to reach 95% coverage by 2017.
By the end of this year access to standard broadband of 2 Megabits will be available to everyone. The Government has also made available up to £10 million to support pilot projects to explore ways to extend superfast broadband beyond 95% of UK premises, with technologies such as satellite and wireless and using new financing models.