THE SDLP have today pushed rural broadband to the top of the Assembly agenda at Stormont.
A motion brought forward by SDLP MLAs Gerry Mullan, Justin McNulty and Sinead Bradley highlighted the chronic lack of broadband provision in rural areas of Derry, Armagh and Down.
They have called for Minister for the Economy to step up efforts to remedy the deficiency between rural and urban broadband provision.
East Derry MLA Gerry Bradley said: “There is chronic digital dereliction in rural areas where businesses, schools and homeowners struggle to reach even basic levels of broadband speed and connectivity.
“‘Not spots’ as they have become known don’t only impact on business, but also on rural families, on their children’s education and on their ability to drive economic growth and productivity.
“The failure of the Executive to address this issue is just another example of their willingness to allow certain communities to fall further and further behind.
“The deficit in broadband provision is most acute in border areas, where 42% of premises do not have access to the proposed Universal Service Obligation Speed of 10Mbit/s. Only 2% of premises in urban areas fall short of this requirement.
“In the chamber today the DUP attempted to wash their hands of this failure and I don’t blame them for trying.
“The efforts of successive DUP Economy Ministers to encourage the improvement of our communication network have been shambolic.
“Now that they have supported our motion, we will be holding them to their commitment in the months ahead.
“It is no longer the case that broadband speeds can be considered a luxury.
“They have become standard in most households and fundamental necessity for any businesses hoping to compete in an increasingly global and connected market.
“Improving access to broadband for all of our citizens must be a priority.”
East Derry MLA Gerry Mullan
