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September 2004              

Broadband access is vital for business operations within the highly competitive market place. The work of Advantage West Midlands and British Telecommunications plc in ensuring all businesses across the West Midlands have access to broadband is to be congratulated and constitutes a major step forward for the competitiveness of the region.

The West Midlands Business Council (WMBC), though, has received concerns from businesses, primarily though not exclusively, in rural areas regarding severe delays in guaranteeing broadband access across the whole of the region. While the current success rate of areas within the region being connected to broadband is highly significant, those areas that are not connected include much of the rural part of the region and some strategically important towns.

The West Midlands Business Council, further to discussions with Advantage West Midlands, undertook a survey, via its member organisations, to discover the extent of the problem.

West Midlands Region

The survey of National Farmers' Union (NFU) members have shown that, across the region, up to 4,200 farming businesses do not have access to broadband. These figures exclude rural non farming businesses. It is difficult, at this stage, to determine a more precise figure due to the disparate distribution of some farm businesses.

Herefordshire and parts of Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire have the most pressing problems with access to broadband. The West Midlands conurbation has been catered for with broadband access.

The breakdown of the access problems in each part of the region is as follows:

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is one of the areas worst affected by the lack of broadband access. Nearly every area of the county requires access. British Telecommunications plc announced, on 30 June 2004, that the majority of telephone exchanges will be updated by the end of 2005. The following exchanges will not be updated in this timeframe - leading to real difficulties for many businesses:

How Caple

Livington

Longtown Castle

Michaelchurch

Pencombe

The issue of the need to update two border exchanges also need to be addressed. These are:

Gladestree

Skenfrith

The National Farmers' Union has estimated that between 1,000 – 1,500 farming businesses in the county do not have access to broadband.

Businesses based around Leominster are unable to gain broadband access. The announcement from British Telecommunications should address this specific area but the need to widen access across the mainly rural parts of the county is pressing.

Shropshire

Shropshire suffers from a lack of broadband access. Only 27% of exchanges have been updated. In particular, no timescale has been agreed on the updating of the following exchanges:

Yockleton

Middleton Scriven

Calverhall

Leebotwood

Kinlet

Lee Brockhurst

Morville

Uppington

Norton

Burwaton

The West Midlands IT Association have reported difficulties in the west Shropshire area.

Staffordshire

Rural businesses in Staffordshire are having to survive without broadband access. The Institute of Directors has reported that all rural areas do not have access to broadband, including the whole of the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council area. Mid Staffordshire also suffers from the lack of access and, in particular, Hixon, which hosts a vibrant business park, has no access.

There also seems to be discrepancies in the availability of access. In Gailey, in the ST19 postcode area there is no access to broadband while in nearby Penkridge, also in the ST19 postcode area, the services has been available for over a year.

The National Farmers' Union has estimated that up to 100 farming businesses around the Newcastle under Lyme/Stoke on Trent rural hinterland areas does not receive access and that up to 20 farming businesses near Uttoxeter also has access problems. With the Oakamoor and Tean exchanges not being updated for broadband, the NFU estimates that in the ten mile radius around Cheadle there could be 200-300 farming business without access.

The West Midlands IT Association have reported that north Staffordshire is having particular difficulties in accessing broadband.

Warwickshire

Business representative organisations have reported that some rural areas in the county have serious difficulties in accessing broadband.

This problem is affecting rural and urban communities. Bedworth near Coventry does not have access. Access problems seem to be particularly pertinent in the rural areas towards Shipston on Stour. Nonetheless, we welcome the decision that Claverdon should gain broadband access by the end of September 2004.

Worcestershire

Worcestershire is the one shire county where significant progress is being made to ensure the whole of the county has access. British Telecommunications plc announced, on 30 June 2004, that the whole of Worcestershire should have access to broadband by the end of 2005.

Recognising the difficulties in some areas, e.g., around Bromsgrove, where up to 20 farming businesses do not have access, the West Midlands Business Council welcomes the progress that is being made in the County.

The Way Ahead

Businesses can not fully compete to their full commercial advantage in a highly competitive international market place without broadband access. The problems with access are therefore holding back business growth and the prosperity of the whole of the West Midlands region.

Rural businesses are particularly vital for the productivity of the regional economy. With 80% of the land mass of the West Midlands devoted to the rural economy, this is an area of our economy that can not afford to be neglected.

The West Midlands Business Council believes that action should be stepped up to ensure broadband access in every area of the region. British Telecommunications are helping to deliver change.

Change can also be delivered by businesses on the ground, with some financial backing from the public sector. For example, Herefordshire cites one excellent example where broadband access was provided without the involvement of British Telecom.

Rotherwas is an industrial estate on the outskirts of Hereford – and is the largest industrial estate in the county. With the financial support of Advantage West Midlands and with the work of Business in the Community, businesses on the industrial estate worked together and now broadband access has been provided for the small businesses on this site.

This example could be used in other parts of the region where BT has difficulties providing broadband access.

There is also the pressing issue of the low take-up of broadband in both the residential and business sectors. The West Midlands' low take-up rate, compared to the national average, is holding up effective business growth. The effective promotion of broadband access is vital for the future of the regional economy.

The West Midlands Business Council is committed to working with all partners in the public and private sectors to ensure that all areas across the region have access – ensuring that the West Midlands truly becomes a world class region for business.