Farron – Government failing local people on broadband coverage

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has criticised the Government for failing local people when it comes to broadband coverage.

New figures from the consumer rights group Which? revealed that 1 in 4 people in Westmorland and Lonsdale have less than 4.0Mbps broadband connection.

The average household speed in the area is just 10.9Mbps, compared to the national average of 17Mbps

Under the Government's Universal Service Obligation, 10Mbps is the minimum speed that anyone in the UK would be entitled to request by 2020.

The Cumbrian MP has tabled two parliamentary questions to the Government to establish what progress is being made towards the Universal Service Obligation, and whether BT will face financial penalties if the targets are not met.

Tim said: "The fact that one in four people in the South Lakes have a broadband connection of less than 4Mbps is frankly not good enough.

"Many small businesses in rural areas like ours are finding it impossible to function without adequate broadband.

"The Government's Universal Service Obligation target of 10Mbps is nowhere near ambitious enough when you think that Canada, which is a much larger country than ours, has a target of 50Mbps.

"Most importantly though, to ensure people in the South Lakes and across the country have much better broadband connection, the Government must put in place measures which penalise BT if they fail to meet the targets."