The scene from the ground
The situation in North Yorkshire is that several people were asked to create a steering group to oversee the rollout of broadband to our remote area. We gave up our time for free and now we find that the money (which was earmarked for getting broadband to hard to reach areas), has been used to upgrade 'fast' cabinets in market towns to 'superfast cabinets'. We, on the other hand, must wait for funding plus the correct testing and operation of fibre to the node, wireless, or satellite (Yeah right)
Margaret Hodge is right to give these people a grilling as they have used the money to tick the easiest boxes, (Some market towns are classed as 'rural').
Tell me why should I give up my time for nothing when they roll over us like this?
Considering all the other stuff we are losing in the countryside due to 'efficiency savings', (public transport, post offices, schools, healthcare services, to name a few), I think it's time all utilities should be re-privatised as Thatcher's free market experiment does not work for us.