Nine million brits have said that they would not move to the countryside because they fear they will be cut off by poor broadband.
A new report from uSwitch has found that, behind only poor transport links, slow or unreliable broadband is the biggest fear that people have when considering to move to rural locations.
Fifty eight per cent of the 2,008 UK adults surveyed said that poor broadband coverage was a concern when relocating closely followed by worries about mobile coverage which 55 per cent said was a concern.
According to uSwitch, over one million brits or a tenth of those living in the countryside said that they would never have moved to a rural location if they knew how poor connectivity is.
uSwitch broadband and mobile expert Ernest Doku said: “It’s ludicrous that in 2018 broadband and mobile phone signal is a factor influencing where in the UK people choose to live.
“In recent years there have been massive strides made in the rollout of superfast services and mobile reception provision, so it’s hard to imagine why so many people continue to struggle along on a service that doesn’t meet their needs.
“Pretty much everyone in both the city and the country should be able to access excellent broadband and mobile coverage, so those experiencing poor connectivity need to be made more aware of the range of better options available to them.
“The only explanation is that providers have been guilty of a ‘build it and they will come’ mentality – simply assuming that their work is done as soon as they have provided the infrastructure for faster services and not doing enough to make sure that their customers are aware that better services are available.
“Whether you live in the city or the country, good connectivity is something everyone relies on and should expect. It certainly shouldn’t be allowed to deter anyone from relocating to their next home – wherever that may be.”
