Fears farmers are being forgotten by tech firms

Graham Locker says he has been trying to get full fibre broadband for his farm in Boylestone near Ashbourne since 2019

Farmers are being left behind because of the high cost of installing full fibre broadband in rural areas, according to a National Farmers' Union (NFU) representative in Derbyshire.

Andrew Critchlow, the NFU's county advisor, said having a fast and reliable internet connection was increasingly important for farmers but there were pockets of farmers who struggled to get online.

The latest figures from the NFU revealed 34% of its members had full fibre broadband - compared to 57% of properties nationally - in a 2023 study.

Openreach said 339,000 homes now already had this form of broadband in Derbyshire and it was working with the government and the county council to reach more properties.

Mr Locker believes the internet connection at his farm has got worse over the last three years

Full fibre broadband is where fibre optic cables are used rather than traditional copper phone lines, which means providers need to dig trenches to install them individually to each home or business premises.

Mr Critchlow said the cost of this meant some remote properties were missing out.

"The cost is higher for them [telecoms companies], so installing into one property is nowhere near as cost-effective as when they are doing multiple properties and I think that's why they [remote properties] get dropped off in these schemes," he said.

Graham Locker, 66, who has a farm in Boylestone, near Ashbourne, said he could go an entire day without getting a proper internet connection and believes his access has got worse over the past three years.

"I think full fibre is the only option.

"If they could come and put some full fibre cabling into the farm from the top of the lane and connect the house I will be very happy," he said.

Mr Locker said the amount of online administration work in farming had grown over the years and added he had looked into getting the internet via a satellite but this was too expensive.

'Reaching more areas'

An Openreach spokesperson said: "Openreach is building full fibre to millions of homes and businesses across the UK, and has already reached more than 339,000 across Derbyshire.

"We know there is more work to do, and we understand it's frustrating that this property is not yet included in our build plans.

"We continue to work closely with Digital Derbyshire [the council-led programme] and UK government on reaching more areas."

Across the country, there is a move to get more homes on to full fibre broadband.

An Ofcom spokesperson said the industry was in the process of replacing the traditional telephone network as part of a broader initiative to modernise the UK's telecoms infrastructure and expected all landline calls to be delivered over a broadband connection by January 2027.