The countryside agency that made the lament is the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). According to the organisation, it was the lack of quality broadband service – in terms of both coverage and broadband speed – in such locations that have brought the businesses there to such a disadvantageous position.

The CLA had, as a matter of fact, put forward the claim while discussing the decision of the Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to call on the businesses with an over 100,000 pound annual turnover to file tax returns over the internet.

The president of the Country Land and Business association, William Worsely said that plans like that were simply unworkable for a number of business firms. He added that many rural areas in the United Kingdom currently could simply not get broadband reducing these areas to the ignominy of being termed broadband notspots.

Worsely further explained that until the required funding that has been called for by the CLA happened it was just absurd to rollout mandatory form-filling over the internet.

It was only in November the CLA had accosted the government to make clear the reports that the proposed fresh broadband levy could be charged with VAT. The broadband tax would be, according to the government, used to finance the widespread rollout of fibre optic broadband services.

Against the backdrop of a well and widely known fact that the views on the future broadband rollout in the United Kingdom maintained by the major rival parties – the Labour and the Conservative parties – are considerably different, BSG has posted its intriguing survey result. This says that owing to the uncertainties shrouding the post-election scenario of the broadband segment of the United Kingdom, a tint of reluctance could be formed amongst the private investors to fund the initiative smoothly, which would result in a swift rollout.

Both the parties that would be locking horns as the chief contenders in the election have already made clear their respective stances in the context of the country’s future broadband rollout plans. As a matter of fact, the Labour government had already treaded a good distance on their pet universal broadband programme that points to the provision of a broadband connection of 2Mbps minimum download speed to every household in the United Kingdom by 2012, besides their bigger plan of rolling out a next generation superfast fibre optic broadband network across the country that would be done stage by stage to be completed within a decades time.

On the other hand, the Conservatives that had aired their views through Ed Vaizey, their spokesman on the broadband issues, had also expressed their difference with the 2Mbps universal broadband rollout plans proposed by the Labour government. Instead the Tory broadband plans give priority to the next generation fibre optic broadband rollout that would spread from the cities. This stance of the Conservatives has resulted in causing widespread apprehension among the residents of the rural areas in the UK including broadband users.

Moreover, the view of the Conservatives to virtually emasculate the prominent as well as incumbent fixed-line broadband provider of the United Kingdom BT, particularly in the context of their involvement in the future broadband rollout of the United Kingdom, has obviously taken the people living in the rural areas by surprise, apart from a bit of apprehension. They have their doubts about the Tory line of planning for a next generation broadband funding participating all the players in the country instead of helping it with a public funding. They doubt if the private entities would sincerely apply into a robust rural broadband enhancement.

It is amusing that the Broadband Stakeholder Group’s chief executive, Anthony Walker had stressed the two different views held by the rival political parties, during a Westminster forum that they were facing a couple of entirely contrasting broadband roadmaps. He added that the industrial activism approach of the Labour that he rather liked to call nuts and bolts, and the heart of which is was the knowledge that a problem coming up, as the approach of the Tories was quiet different in its structure of looking at the market mechanism in the anticipation for a new market entry and to boost the market value hoping that the market not only exceeded the commoner’s expectations of the day but also delivered more.

However, the most significant warning sounded by Walker was that a hung parliament resulting from the upcoming general elections could potentially put the broadband rollout across the country in total jeopardy.

The southern part of the valley consisting of Medmenham, Hambleden, Pheasants Hill and Mill End are the areas where service have not reached so far. These areas are said to be a few of the left out ‘not spots’ across Britain. In parliament MP Paul Goodman had brought up this matter as Buckinghamshire country’s councilor Bob Woollard blamed BT for not taking any positive measures to address this matter. At the same time Woollard have also given a written complaint to Sir Michael Rake, chairman of BT Group plc.

The villagers of the region meanwhile, set up a committee called Hambleden Valley Broadband and a discussion was held between the committee and BT last year. During the meeting BT revealed that, to bring broadband service to the country they should raise a fund above GBP 200,000. A service is predicted close in time through company Village Networks. According to a relevent deal, household broadband will be accessible if they were ready to raise GBP 25,000. Subsequently, a GBP 5,000 have been pledged by Buckinghamshire Country council towards it.

A resident of Hambleden valley Peter Riley aged 69 is a business consultant that still uses dial up internet connection for his business dealings. He said that it was the most frustrating thing and at times he felt like hurling a brick at his computer. It is indeed – quoting his expression – “preposterous and a disgrace” that he is unable to carry out common tasks such as booking flight tickets and downloading his grand children’s photos. He also added that the Village Networks scheme was the only chance available, for the success of which they were currently going with a begging bowl around the village.

Councilor Woollard opined that areas like Hambleden being left out without a broadband service clearly sounded ridiculous. Particularly when some people did business, a few worked from home and above all students needed broadband service to perform their homework research. He further pointed out that BT should wake up to offer fresh as well as prudent ideas that should give a better answer than just saying pay two hundred thousand pounds and you can have it.

On the other hand, Emma Littlejohn spokesperson of BT said that they could understand the frustration of the people and they were trying their best to find a solution that is viable, to provide the broadband service of the broadband provider in the area. She added that for the time being they were trialling the much promising broadband enabling technology known as BET at ten spots in the country and more over, Sir Michael Rake, BT’s chairman was trialling BET at his home.

At the same time, the residents of the village can be content that there is at least someone like the MP Paul Goodman that supported their campaign for broadband. He was found to be quiet sympathetic towards the villagers’ need of the hour and his feelings reflect in his saying that broadband had become an essential service like electricity, gas or water.

It is also a reality that there are many more of such broadband internet notspots in the United Kingdom that seriously required attention of the authority. The government’s Universal Broadband plan that come under the wider Digital Britain programme had been visualised mainly to tackle such problems. Under this scheme, BT, as the prominent fixed-line broadband supplier in the country is supposed to shoulder the duty all by its own. However, it is also interesting to note that the Conservatives have claimed that, according to their scheme of things, it should be a comprehensive approach participating all the UK ISPs, and not just an only-BT scheme.

Timms have once again repeated the regular lines that those areas that would not be covered by the investment by private sector alone, would be provided with high speed broadband internet access with the help of public funding.

Timms further stated that the aim of Digital Britain was to help the United Kingdom to become one of the most technologically advanced, highly skilled and competitive economies in the world. He also revealed that the government would invest some GBP 200 million in boosting the broadband networks of those parts that had nominal or no service at all.

According to the Digital Britain minister, the Scotland market was already delivering advanced ways of connecting consumers to such superfast broadband networks, and the Fibrecity initiative was already providing the homes and businesses in Dundee with a 100Mbps broadband service, through fibre optic lines running beneath the city.

Timms concluded by saying that it was this sort of investment led by the market and backed by government funding, which he wished to see rolled out increasingly, so that all areas of Scotland could enjoy a digital future that was brighter.

In a briefing thrown at an international meeting on dark fibre, the UK Shadow minister for arts, Ed Vaizey has taken the battle to the Labour camps by stating that Labour’s business rates levy policy has resulted in inflicting great damage to the telecoms in the United Kingdom. Later, in another briefing given to Computer Weekly, Vaizey hit out at the business rates regime saying that it was a potential disincentive to the rollout of a competitive and superfast next generation broadband network, since it dated from 1601.

His (Conservative Party’s?) political view is profound and vivid in his lament that hardly any body has come forward to shoulder the responsibility for the rates with authority, even as the responsibility for the business rates was being shared between one too many departments of the government, including the business, skills and innovation department that held the charge of the communications aspect, the DCLG (the communities and local government department) that held the charge of the rating policy, the treasury that is headed by the minister who also takes care of the Digital Britain implementation, and the VOA (valuation office agency).

Vaizey’s remark that they saw the policy being shared amongst a bewildering range of quangos and government bodies, and the claim that came alongside that this was something that he intended to fix, sows the seed of speculation that he might be the man that the Conservatives would assign with the telecommunications department once it gains power. Moreover this one view of the shadow arts minister, obviously overshadows the commitment of the de jury Digital Britain minister as well as that of the de facto minister that are seen going through the motions at present.

Vaizey scores further over his counterpart (s) by playing down the proposals by the Valuation Office Agency to levy the WiMAX and WiFi networks that the proposal was still damaging even though the VOA had claimed that it was simply an extension of the policy that exists. Besides, he also revealed that the Conservative Party was against the government’s plan to slap a 50 pence a month levy on the UK fixed telephone lines. He has cited the view put forward by the TalkTalk chief Charles Dunstone – that the scheme of the government was likely to impede the superfast next generation fibre broadband rollout in the rural UK, for the private investors might anticipate the availability of public funds – to flay the Labour 50p monthly broadband tax plans.

Vaizey also made clear the stance of the Tories that they were looking ahead to an investment scheme that participated every one, and not just BT. He said that this meant that the network of BT should be opened up for other broadband providers as well to run fibre. His further proposals that they would not be tied down to a particular broadband technology, and the most ideal way to boost investment was to encourage competition in the liberal markets, accentuates one aspect. That encouragement of competition would be the prime Tory line.

The shadow arts minister further emphasizes this view by stating that though the fact that the investment in the sector of telecommunications was driven by competition, was also clear that a crucial part in market outcomes was played by the policy and regulation of the government. This is clearly a warning to none but the prominent fixed-line broadband provider operating in the United Kingdom, BT.

Vaizey’s insight on the technology part is also remarkable, perhaps a yard ahead of that of his rivals, Stephen Timms and Lord Mandelson. He acknowledges the significance of the availability of dark fibre in the rollout of the next generation broadband rollout in the UK in the competitive market of his dreams. The essence of the part is in his following statement that they wanted the telecoms regulator Ofcom to perform a complete review of how could dark fibre be delivered to the UK broadband market.

Vaizey’s view that dark fibre backhaul might be of much use in supporting the LLU (local loop unbundling) as the latter could sustain profound network competition in the next generation broadband internet access provision, along with another that for its realization, innovative solutions such as a direct access to digital subscriber loop (DSL) card management or the lesser access to cabinet shelves or racks would be required, sounds quiet reasonable as well as supportive to the main cause.

One part that Vaizey seemed to be conveniently overlooking was the universal broadband speed, which has been a concern for most of the broadband consumers in the country at present. This was also the pitfall that Lord Carter had recognized, but lately and rudely neglected by Mandelson. Nonetheless, the promising show by Vaizey certainly provides food for thought for the broadband experts of the country as well as dreams for the UK ISPs (except BT) and the end users. The sole question that remains unanswered is what would be the role of Jeremy Hunt there?