BT MUST PRIORITISE RURAL AREAS IN BROADBAND ROLL-OUT - MOORE

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 23rd Jul 2008

Borders MP Michael Moore has reacted to the news that BT will be rolling out 'superfast' fibre-based broadband to ten million homes in the UK by 2012 by encouraging the company to prioritise rural areas.

The investment of £1.5 billion in fibre-optic services would provide speeds of up to 100 megabits per second, with the potential to increase this even further in the future. BT Chief Executive, Ian Livingston, has stated that their plans will benefit "urban and rural areas alike". BT also announced that they are keen to invest further in Scotland.

Some communities in the Borders do not have access to broadband or receive an extremely slow service, which can be a significant hindrance to the setting up of small rural businesses.

BT's announcement follows the publication last month of a national survey of broadband download speeds, which showed vast differences across the country, including between urban and rural areas. Mr Moore, who has been pressing Ofcom to allocate a proportion of the funds raised from the sale of the airwaves freed-up by digital television switchover to be spent specifically on digital services in rural areas, said:

"I am pleased that BT has announced this investment, and I have no doubt that it will prove useful across the country, but most particularly in rural areas.

"Fibre optic cables can remove some of the technological barriers, such as distance from the exchange, which make it difficult to provide rural and remote areas with a reliable broadband service. I sincerely hope that BT will recognise that those who stand to gain the most from this are people in rural areas."