30 July 2010
Councillor Phil Hardy, leader of the Green Party Councillors on Norfolk County Council, has said that the poor broadband and mobile phone coverage experienced by many people in rural Norfolk is a matter of social equality [1].
He was speaking at an event held by Norfolk County Council on 29 July which heard from many business owners and residents living in rural areas of Norfolk who currently experience little to no broadband or mobile phone coverage. On the panel were members of a County Council working group investigating the problem, together with other local councillors and two Norfolk MPs.
Small business owners expressed their frustrations over the difficulties in operating their businesses with such poor communications infrastructure, rural residents and young people spoke of social isolation in many rural areas.
Responding to George Freeman MP’s assertion that the business case for improving digital communications across Norfolk must be based on economic and commercial viability, together with unlocking growth, Councillor Hardy said:
“We’ve heard from Patrick McHugh [a resident of Lyng in Norfolk] how BT won’t improve broadband unless it’s economically viable, and from George Freeman saying how it must be shown how it will unlock growth. We’re missing the point here, because the business case should be based not on economic viability, but on social equality. There are vast inequalities between urban and rural areas, and we should be taking this issue forward primarily to redress this balance.”
He argued that BT should use the profits of connections in urban areas to subsidise those in rural areas; he said this was necessary step in tackling rural poverty:
“We heard from Mrs Hardingham how estate agents have told her that broadband coverage affects house prices. Taken in combination with the fewer post offices and banks in rural areas, more infrequent buses and the loss of convenience stores and pubs, it’s time we had the political will to tackle the vast inequalities facing our county.”
Notes:
[1] Cllr Phil Hardy was involved in a survey of over 200 people from 20 rural areas in Norfolk in early 2009 which uncovered how concerned rural communities are in the loss of their services, leading to social isolation and a sub-standard living environment.
