Rural Yorkshire may be testbed for subsidised fast broadband

PUBLIC subsidies to roll out superfast broadband to rural communities could be trialled in North Yorkshire after a bid was submitted to the Government.

Ministers are looking for three locations where they can test how to use a pot of up to 300m to roll out quick connections in remote areas which would not otherwise be reached by telecoms firms.

MPs are backing a bid for a host of market towns in North Yorkshire to be chosen as one of the pilot areas. The plans are already at a detailed stage, and several MPs met Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt earlier this week to press their case.

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, said: “Having a high speed, quality broadband connection is no longer a luxury but something that is becoming essential for day-to-day life.

“With more and more focus on offering services online, we are concerned that communities in rural areas could be left behind, unable to get online and unable to access these services.

“There is no more rural county in England than North Yorkshire and so this region would be the perfect pilot area for rolling out ‘superfast’ broadband.

“We know there is a strong bid already submitted from the county and we thought it was important we demonstrate our commitment to the issue by meeting with the Secretary of State.”

Ministers are considered using money from the BBC licence fee – which remains unused from the digital switchover – to subsidise the extension of superfast broadband into areas where it is not viable for private companies to fund the infrastructure.

The coalition Government is standing by Labour’s pledge to provide basic broadband access – with speeds up to 2Mbps – to every home by the end of 2012. The aim is for superfast access, which could be 50 times faster, to be available across the country within a decade.

Poor broadband connections have become one of the major issues for rural communities, and Ministers hope giving every home and business access to high speeds will help small businesses and tackle social exclusion.

Patients could save themselves a long journey by getting check-ups online and children would be able to access the same learning websites and resources as those in towns and cities.

The North Yorkshire bid has been submitted by NYnet, a public and private sector commercial venture led by the county council, which has already devised its Market Towns Initiative aimed at linking up a host of towns and villages.

Officials at Broadband Delivery UK, which has been set up by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to lead its plans, are expected to offer between 5m and 10m to the schemes chosen to pilot superfast roll-out.

Ministers will make the final decision on which areas to choose for the pilots, and a decision is expected by the end of next month.

Mr Hunt met four Tory MPs this week, with York’s Labour MP Hugh Bayley sending a letter backing the bid as well. Campaigners hope the fact NYNet has already been set up will appeal to Ministers.

York Outer MP Julian Sturdy said: “In the run-up to the election, talking to businesses and people who work from home this [poor broadband connections] has been a real problem for them.

“I think this will have a great boost for the private sector growth and help local communities and economies.”

The Commission for Rural Communities has repeatedly identified good broadband connections as one of the priorities for the countryside.

It is one of the main issues which could help to stem an exodus of young people from rural areas, which is causing concern.

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