Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Jess Brown-Fuller
Main Page: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)Department Debates - View all Jess Brown-Fuller's debates with the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas
Jess Brown-Fuller Excerpts(1 day, 19 hours ago)
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Anna Sabine
That is an extremely good point; perhaps the Minister will be able to address it in his response.
In today’s hyperconnected world, no community should be excluded. We speak of self-driving cars and space tourism, so clearly the technology exists; it is not a question of possibility, but a question of political will.
Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
Does my hon. Friend agree that rurality does not necessarily correlate with population density? My constituency is a city, albeit a small one, yet mobile signal is non-existent in the city centre, and businesses have had real issues attaching to any sort of broadband availability.
Anna Sabine
I agree with my hon. Friend; when I moved into my house in Frome recently, I was told that only one broadband provider was available, because all the other cabinets were full. There are many issues around broadband connectivity in towns as well.
I will finish my points there, because I believe that other colleagues have agreed to speak.