According to MP for rural Penrith and the Borders, rural communities will “die out and disappear” providing no fourth generation mobile broadband is deployed to those who can’t access fixed-line broadband, or if they can – the speeds are too measly to stream videos or play computer games.
Rory Stewart was quoted as saying:
“We must make sure rural communities are not let down when it comes to accessing 4G or LTE services.
“This auction must not be about Ofcom getting a quick and easy lump sum off the operators bidding for the rights to use this spectrum.”
An array of industry insiders claim that mobile broadband is the key to building a bridge between the broadband-privileged (aka hotspots) and those who don’t have access to speeds faster than 2Mbps as they are too far from the nearest telephone exchange.
Mobile broadband seems to be the perfect solution as there is no need to be close to the exchange, however the signal and speeds depend on the level of coverage a certain location will fall under.
Satellite broadband too can be something to consider – if you have the cash that is, as both the set up and the monthly charge are budget-breakers.
However, the fact stays the same – rural communities need to get online and many think that it is not fair that ISPs concentrate on making fast speeds even faster in urban cities, as some remote areas have no connection at all.
Perhaps saying that rural areas will “die out and disappear” is a tad too extreme, but businesses based there will definitely fall behind.
It’s fair to say that what might irritate some is that the finances are there – but these are not distributed as remote communities would like them to.