I’ve been reading in my local paper that there’s a campaign aimed at highlighting rural broadband inequalities currently being run by the Country Land and Business Association.
It’s a big issue for a county the size of Yorkshire and as the CLA Yorkshire Regional Director Dorothy Fairburn quite rightly says: “Yorkshire’s rural small businesses should not have to suffer the economic straightjacket imposed by lack of broadband.
“People now see broadband as being a utility as important as gas and electricity and much more needs to be done if those in remoter parts of the county are to have a future in ‘Digital Britain’ – because without it they will continue to suffer severe economic and social disadvantages.”
A very worthwhile campaign and something all those that question why Britain is being held back will applaud – as this report from the FT charts, Britain currently languishes in 25th position in the global broadband league table.
“This sad state of affairs means the UK is punching well under its weight today, and it will be doing even worse by 2012” says it author Peter Cochrane.
But, while worthy, I do wonder if the CLA campaign’s offline efforts to drum up support is the best way forward – having a stand at the Yorkshire Show where people can stick pins in ‘notspots’ on a map will surely only reach a handful of the people who could bring the pressure to bear.
Learning the lessons of other campaigns , I wondered if there’s enough people who could be mobilised to demand better services though online petitions? Or perhaps take the “notspots” online for a crowd-sourced Google map which providesor wider involvement?
Dim Sum Digital 