Three to offer free mobile broadband to rural areas

Mobile operator Three is to give away free broadband to people in rural areas where there are poor or non-existent connections, known as ‘not-spots'. The mobile operator has teamed up with the Countryside Alliance and will also get input from charity Race Online 2012, to form the Rural Broadband Working Group. The plan is to give away around 4 million MBs of free connectivity for a year, along with the mobile broadband devices that are needed to get people online. The first village to receive free connectivity from Three will be Gringley-on-the-Hill in North Nottinghamshire. The village of around 750 people has a pub, village hall, church and school but poor-quality access to fixed-line broadband services. The village will receive around 30 mobile broadband dongles and compact wireless routers, known as Mifi devices, that act as mobile wireless hotspots. Some scepticism has been voiced about Three's motives for getting involved in this project, with a few analysts believing it is about helping the company when it bids for more wireless spectrum. However Sarah Lee, head of policy for the Countryside Alliance said mobile internet access "could be the answer" to bridging the digital divide in the countryside. "The recent Government announcement of financial help to bring broadband to rural communities is welcome, but not enough, and may yet take several years to be properly realised," she said. The Group will now work with local communities to identify 11 areas. Three will provide the chosen communities with the mobile broadband services for a 12-month period and the devices needed to get online. In addition, Three said it would be providing free public access in communal areas such as pubs and community centres.