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Poor rural broadband speeds hurting SMEs

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26 January 2015

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Trail blazing – not all rural areas get decent broadband

Digital data

  • 47% of rural small businesses are dissatisfied with their broadband reliability, 61% with upload speed and 61% with download speed.
  • 49% of rural small businesses are dissatisfied with the quality of their broadband provision, compared with 28% of urban small businesses.

NEARLY half of rural UK small businesses are struggling with inadequate broadband speeds threatening their potential for growth.

Research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has 49% of rural small businesses are dissatisfied with the quality of their broadband provision. The data showed nearly double the level of dissatisfaction compared to urban small businesses with 28% dissatisfied.

This issue is predicted to become even more significant over the next two years, as small firms become more reliant on a high quality broadband connection to do business. More than three quarters said that email will be critical to their business, while 57% said broadband will be essential to engaging with their customers in the next two years.

This issue is predicted to become even more significant over the next two years, as small firms become more reliant on a high quality broadband

The current lack of broadband infrastructure serving small firms threatens the expansion of the £400Bn rural economy. The business opportunity includes 28% of all UK firms and over one million small businesses.

Mike Cherry, national policy chairman for the FSB, said: “This research paints a worrying picture of a divided business broadband landscape in the UK, and unless addressed highlights a clear obstacle to growth in the coming years. We risk seeing the emergence of a two-speed online economy resulting from poor rural broadband infrastructure.”

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