Broadband has been an issue in South Derbyshire long before I was first elected in 2010 and it still is. Indeed it’s one of the biggest topics in terms of casework my team and I face. It would seem that the very thing we love about the area we live in, its’ rural nature, brings with it problems of accessibility and speed with broadband, a problem shared with many other rural parts of the country, as I have discovered from my work as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale MP.
Since we came to government in 2010 we have spent billions on upgrading networks across the UK and have brought broadband to millions more homes and businesses in both rural and urban areas. The government is seeking to build on this success by investing a further £1 billion into broadband and mobile infrastructure in order to provide superfast speeds to 90% of the UK by 2016 and 95% by 2017. This is fantastic for South Derbyshire as even those most rural areas should start receiving faster internet speeds and a better mobile reception.
In South Derbyshire we have recently played host to a trial by Sky for their superfast broadband services. This trial could have seen to be a failure due to their lack of public consultation with the people in the areas affected and I know this from the numbers of people who have got in touch with me about this. This is unfortunate because if Sky had only put in the groundwork they would have got buy-in from people which would have ensured success. I have been working with Sky to try and resolve the issues my constituents have brought to my attention. However I am pleased to report along with the anxious comments by some there have been hundreds of people contacting Sky to join in with the pilot.
In this day and age access to superfast reliable broadband is essential. So many firms in South Derbyshire, large and small, conduct the majority of their business online, therefore we need our local companies to prosper as this brings expansion and more jobs.
I believe for all future new developments installing broadband technology should be part of the Planning Permission requirements. This would prevent roads and pavements from being affected and would ensure broadband is available from day one.
In the meantime I will continue to work with all broadband providers to ensure they improve their services as soon as possible. I will also be speaking to Ministers to ensure South Derbyshire receives the best possible Broadband and mobile service. This will take time but it is a priority of mine.
(This piece was originally written for the Burton Mail).