What is clearly required is for informed journalists, such as Jasper Gerard, to get out of London and then continue to educate the masses, including politicians, RDAs etc who are definitely not exempt from the need to be educated about this issue.
People like Helen Anderson (read the book about South Witham Broadband Community Network for more detail of SWBB) are those who have made and will continue to make Digital Britain happen.
Interestingly, as more communities get in touch about resolving the digital divide, next generation issue, it is no longer just technogicially aware people who are getting involved. We are seeing a rise in the number of people who don't know the technical answers but are more than willing to find out and JFDI.
The frustration levels with politicans, telcos, RDAs and so on are now so high that it is not a matter of IF this becomes an election issue but WHEN.
The sooner there is a realisation that this affects the vast majority of citizens and businesses in the UK, rural and urban, the better for all concerned. If the telcos continue to lag behind, they will find themselves usurped in a repeat of the situation that occurred when rural communities (such as my own) began to generate electricity (and also provide clean healthy water) long before the urban areas, such as Manchester, could enjoy a supply.
Potentially, the only way that such community networks will then be wrested away from the communities they serve will be through an Act of Parliament or similar, as had to be done to get the small, local electricity and water companies away from community ownership in the 50s. And, I and no doubt many others, will fight tooth and nail to keep ownership for any fibre that belongs to a community because of the cock ups, wastage of money and resources, and misery caused by giving private companies ownership of utilities.
The full Telegraph article - Better broadband for rural Britain.
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