Research by geographers on the Rural Public Access WiFi Service (PAWS) study, facilitated digital inclusion in a commercially ‘hard to reach’ remote rural community.
Issue
Social, economic, and territorial divides remain between those who are digitally connected and those who are not. In the UK, as people live in more remote and sparsely populated areas, the commercial investment case for broadband provision weakens, increasing the likelihood of no or very poor broadband connectivity.
Approach
The Rural PAWS project provided participants in Shropshire with free access to a satellite-based, rate-limited broadband service. The study examined the extent to which local demand for improved connectivity could be stimulated to bring ‘hard to reach’ communities online and allow previously digitally excluded people to enter a digital society.
Impact
The study had direct social and economic impacts on the households and micro-businesses who were provided with broadband access, including upskilling in digital literacy.
This generated local-scale impacts on the wider community in rural Shropshire by creating an appetite for better broadband and stimulating the market.
Since 2016, the results of the study has underpinned evidence-based policy contributions which aid government decision-making to alleviate rural disadvantage in broadband connectivity.
More information
Institution: University of Chester
Researcher: Dr Fiona Williams