Somerset overcomes digital exclusion with largest UK rural broadband wireless network

Rural businesses in Somerset are streets ahead after hooking up to the country’s largest rural wireless network.

Supported by Somerset County Council the non-profit company South West Internet has helped over 200 companies in Somerset connect to the internet from some of the most remote parts of the county.

Three years ago Somerset had very poor internet connectivity; businesses and people in their homes struggled with long waits with dial-up, with files often taking hours to download.

Somerset County Council stepped in when it became clear that commercial internet companies could not provide even a basic service to Somerset’s worst affected rural areas.

The new wireless broadband infrastructure has given a much needed boost to the rural community who were often at a disadvantage to businesses in towns. Farms and hotels are among the key businesses
to benefit helping them work much more efficiently.

With outstanding opportunities for business development, combined with a top-quality lifestyle and now the most extensive rural wireless network in the country, Somerset is fast becoming a very desirable location for businesses to base themselves.

Connecting Somerset’s Programme Manager, Dave Cornish, said that "The project has had a profound impact, and goes a long way in closing, the ever growing, digital divide between urban and rural areas".