Case Study
North Yorkshire
September 2023

Yorkshire couple in Rishi Sunak's own constituency escape from digital deprivation with 4G broadband

Living in picturesque North Yorkshire, Dominic Bath and his wife had grappled with poor internet connectivity for over 4 1/2 years. In the heart of Rishi Sunak's Richmond constituency, their idyllic surroundings were tarnished by the reality of digital isolation.

The Baths' landline broadband service only delivered speeds of 3 Mbps, woefully inadequate for both their personal and professional needs. Their online activities were severely limited, and it was becoming increasingly infuriating for Dominic, an E-learning consultant, when attempting to deliver efficient services to his clients.

His incoming broadband was so slow that Dominic was unable to do simple day-to-day tasks online. From video calls to streaming, everything online was a buffering nightmare. A hugely frustrated Dominic was forced to search for alternative places to work, visiting his local library to access work files and join important Zoom meetings. Despite endless back-and-forths, his existing internet provider could not offer any effective solution.

Determined to find a solution, Dominic conducted extensive research and found National Broadband. After signing up to the company's 4G-based broadband services, Dominic and his wife have experienced a complete transformation in all their online activities. Gone are the days of sluggish loading times and frustrating buffering. Hugely improved broadband speeds of 45-50 Mbps now allow them to enjoy smooth streaming, seamless online communication and uninterrupted E-learning consulting sessions.

Dominic added "The process of switching to National Broadband was really smooth and efficient. Unlike my previous provider, National Broadband's staff were incredibly helpful. They answered all my questions and quickly identified the best 4G network for my location. Finally being able to get fast and reliable broadband has been a massive help to me and my wife with everyday tasks. We are now able to get online and stay connected with family and friends."

It's not just Dominic and his wife who have faced such problems. Latest Ofcom data reveals that their county of Yorkshire is one of the worst UK regions for broadband, with almost 19,000 homes unable to access broadband speeds of even 10 Mbps.

What's more, according to National Broadband's recent FOI analysis, Yorkshire has yet to receive any funding at all from Project Gigabit to improve the county's connectivity. In stark contrast, areas in the south such as the South East and East of England have received well over £280 million each to help get communities connected.

It's clear that in order to reach its self-set target of providing 85% of the UK with access to full fibre gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, the Government is targeting easier-to-reach areas, but leaving large swathes of the country like rural Yorkshire behind. Areas of higher population density that already have perfectly good broadband are receiving funding, whereas rural locations which are those suffering with the poorest current landline broadband performance are very largely being ignored.

David Hennell, Director at National Broadband, commented "The broadband challenges faced by Dominic and his wife are sadly representative of an issue that still affects hundreds of thousands of households and businesses across the UK. We are of course delighted to have helped out the Baths with our 4G broadband service, which is now allowing them to fully benefit from today's wealth of online resources.

He continued: " However, It is past time for the Government to look at leveraging alternative solutions to make sure that every part of the UK has access to fast and reliable broadband - because those solutions exist today. We at National Broadband are entirely committed to tackling digital disparity head-on and offering high quality broadband to individuals and communities across the UK. The UK Government should be as committed as we are to ensuring that no one is left digitally deprived."

The above case study originally appeared on the website of our parent company, National Broadband Ltd