We all know the frustration of waiting for an important internet page to load when connectivity is less than optimal. While technology is great when it works, it seems to create far more stress when it doesn’t than not having it in the first place.
And in a world when the majority of us are used to having the internet at our fingertips via computers and mobile devices, we have come to look upon access as a right rather than a privilege, so when it vanishes the feeling of being aggrieved can be very pronounced indeed.
But for many who run businesses in the countryside (like Rix Petroleum) super-fast connectivity is a pipe dream that seems a long way off. The government is apparently committed to delivering super-fast broadband to 95 per cent of rural areas in the UK by 2017, but that is still a long way off and leaves five per cent of the country completely in the dark.
If you are struggling to compete with urban counterparts 2017 may well be too late considering the fast moving commercial environment most of us operate in.
Thanks to the roll out of the 4G networks, however, an alternative solution might soon be available. 4G, so-called because it is the fourth generation of mobile telecommunications technology, provides for the first time ultra-broadband mobile internet access meaning users will be able to get online far quicker than a standard wifi or fixed-line internet connection.
And it is growing in popularity. According to market analyst Analysys Mason the UK will be the third-largest 4G market in Europe by the end of this year, with an estimated 8 million users.
Jay Karsandas, digital manager at mobile phone retailer Mobiles.co.uk, told the Guardian newspaper that many rural UK businesses are now looking to replace their fixed line broadband connections with 4G as speeds are overtake those of traditional ADSL connections.
This is good news for rural businesses that simply can’t afford to wait until 2017 for a decent internet connection and is something that might be worth investigating if you are already experience problems.
So why not find out more about it by Googling ‘4G for rural businesses’? (I know we will be!!) Then you can go a make yourself cup of tea, and if you’re lucky, the page might have loaded by the time you get back!
