Poor connectivity 'threatens' rural prosperity

A new report has claimed that poor mobile and broadband coverage is threatening the prosperity of rural areas across the UK.

The Local Government Association says bad connectivity, health inequality, a skills gap and unaffordable homes are creating a ‘perfect storm’ while the national government is preoccupied with Brexit.

Indeed, it says that rural businesses are being cut off from new markets, with 40 per cent rating their broadband connection as “poor”.

Rural mobile coverage

The association is now calling for local authorities to have more devolved powers and funding, so they can take more control over areas like housing and health. One proposal would be to ensure that all new build homes are connected to ‘futureproofed’ digital infrastructure.

“Rural areas face a perfect storm. It is increasingly difficult for people to buy a home in their local community, mobile and broadband connectivity can be patchy, and people living within rural and deeply rural communities face increasing isolation from health services,” said Mark Hawthorne, Chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board.

“If Britain is to make the most of a successful future outside of the European Union, it’s essential that our future success is not confined to our cities. Unless the Government can give non-metropolitan England the powers and resources it needs, it will be left behind.

“This report outlines to Government a firm offer from councils in non-metropolitan areas, to play a greater role in building thriving, connected and healthy communities. It represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for non-metropolitan England to not only improve public services, but deliver a resurgence in rural England’s economy as well.”

The government-funded Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme has helped bring superfast broadband to 95 per cent of the UK and there are plans to go further. Under BDUK, local authorities had to match any funding received from central government. There are also proposals for a 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation, while EE is committed to bringing 4G to 95 per cent of the UK’s landmass.

Last month, Ofcom CEO Sharon White suggested that the total cost of bringing 4G to the whole of the UK could be “billions”.

Steve McCaskill is TechRadar Pro's resident mobile industry expert, covering all aspects of the UK and global news, from operators to service providers and everything in between. He is a former editor of Silicon UK and journalist with over a decade's experience in the technology industry, writing about technology, in particular, telecoms, mobile and sports tech, sports, video games and media. 

Latest in Pro
Epson EcoTank ET-4850 next to a TechRadar badge that reads Big Savings
I searched for the best printer deal you won't find in the Amazon Spring Sale
Microsoft Copiot Studio deep reasoning and agent flows
Microsoft reveals OpenAI-powered Copilot AI agents to bosot your work research and data analysis
Group of people meeting
Inflexible work policies are pushing tech workers to quit
Representational image depecting cybersecurity protection
Third-party security issues could be the biggest threat facing your business
An image of network security icons for a network encircling a digital blue earth.
Why multi-CDNs are going to shake up 2025
A stylized depiction of a padlocked WiFi symbol sitting in the centre of an interlocking vault.
Broadcom warns of worrying security flaws affecting VMware tools
Latest in News
EA Sports F1 25 promotional image featuring drivers Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman.
F1 25 has been officially announced, with this year's entry marking a return for Braking Point and a 'significant overhaul' for My Team mode
Garmin clippd integration
Garmin's golf watches just got a big software integration upgrade to help you improve your game
Robert Downey Jr reveals himself as Doctor Doom to a delighted crowd at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
Marvel is currently making a major announcement about Avengers: Doomsday's cast on YouTube, and I think it's going to be a long-winded reveal
Samsung QN90F on yellow background
Samsung announces US prices for its 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, and it’s good and bad news
Nintendo Switch Lite
Forget the Nintendo Switch 2, the original Switch is getting one last hurrah in a surprise Nintendo Direct tomorrow
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display the January 22, 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge colors seemingly revealed in new video, and there’s another sign of an imminent launch