Digital Divide

Commsworld and Alncom have partnered to boost connectivity for retail motor group Tustain Motors, headquartered in Alnwick and with dealerships across rural areas of England and Scotland.

A Sub-regional Digital Infrastructure Strategy has been launched today by Local London and the South London Partnership to identify gaps in gigabit-capable connectivity across 14 south and east London boroughs.

Only around 53 per cent of those eligible for social tariffs are currently aware of their existence. For this reason, uptake rates remain concerningly low. As of April 2022, only 5.1 per cent of those eligible for social tariffs had made the switch according to Ofcom, representing 220k of a potential 4.3 million households. This is against a UK market penetration rate of just over 11 per cent for fibre.

The Local Government Alliance is calling for the appointment of a dedicated Digital Exclusion Minister, given the task of overseeing a new strategy to close the growing digital divide.

The Communications and Digital Committee is launching an inquiry into digital exclusion and the cost of living. It is inviting written contributions by Tuesday 7th March.

Quickline Communication’s hybrid network is now available in 2,000 rural communities as it aims to tackle the digital divide.

Telecommunications and broadband provider Fibrus has announced the latest recipients of its £55,000 community fund, designed to address digital poverty in rural Northern Ireland.

County Broadband is asking for more to be done to tackle the digital divide in reaction to a Point Topic analysis showing that 30% of rural homes and businesses have access to gigabit broadband speeds compared to 70% in urban areas.

Hayog Farm in Ambleston is an example of the rural premises being connected by Broadway Partners as part of the Digital Pembrokeshire project, which uses government vouchers to enable gigabit-capable fibre connections.

Commsworld has been awarded a contract which could see £150m spent over 15 years to transform North Lanarkshire’s digital infrastructure and connectivity.