Rural surfers may be ‘fobbed off’ with satellite broadband

May 7, 2017

Rural Internet users could find themselves with a bum deal under government proposals to give everyone in the country access to high speed broadband.

The government’s Digital Britain scheme aims to give every home in the UK 2Mbps broadband by 2012.

However, consumer review site ISPreview.co.uk believes that rural users could be ’short changed with deeply inferior products’.

“We fear that those desiring a better rural broadband service could be fobbed off with costly and restrictive Satellite services or a fledgling Mobile Broadband solution,” said Mark Jackson, ISPreview.co.uk editor.

Jackson pointed out that both mobile and satellite broadband offer lower quality connections at a higher price compared to fixed-line broadband.

Mobile and satellite connections suffer from high latency, making VoIP calls and online gaming impossible.

Mobile broadband also has poor connection stability, excessive image compression, and blocks a number of important services, including VoIP, IPTV, P2P downlands, and Instant Messaging applications.

Satellite broadband has a huge installation cost – with the satellite dish costing a minimum of £400,and up to £800.

“We firmly believe that it is in everybody’s best interest that the government avoid approving inferior platforms where service restrictions and high costs conspire to limit flexibility,” Jackson said.

“Many people living in rural and remote locations are also on low incomes, they need something cheaper and more flexible, not the other way around.”