The decision made by telecoms regulator Ofcom that BT has to legally separate from its Openreach division, which runs the UK's broadband infrastructure, has been welcomed by the Farmers’ Union of Wales today (Tuesday, November 29).
Commenting on the announcement, FUW Managing Director Alan Davies said: “This is good news, in terms of making the market fairer to other companies and the consumer. However, Openreach is still owned by BT so the devil will no doubt be in the detail.
“What we need here in Wales is fair and equal access to the country's telecoms infrastructure and this has to be open to BT's competitors so that broadband is available in even the most remote parts of our country. Our rural towns and villages have been left behind in the race for better and faster connectivity and it is critical for the sake of rural businesses and the economy, that tangible improvements are made now.
“2 percent of our population produce around 60 percent of our food. Yet there is a significant part of that 2 percent who remain unable to connect to the internet from their farms and they are suffering from digital exclusion. It really is critical that we close that gap between town and country and make broadband a 21st century normality for those living in rural areas.”
The FUW has stressed on many occasions that those without a connection cannot diversify their businesses, that they cannot support children with homework as many need to do and that they cannot connect readily with Government programmes for advice and support payments as they are mandated to do.