04 September 2025

For many rural UK enterprises, broadband isn’t just slow — it’s a roadblock to growth. But with fibre still lagging, a mix of satellites, 5G and fresh investment could finally turn not-spots into hotbeds of digital opportunity…

In today’s digital economy, broadband is no longer a ‘nice to have’ — it’s the oxygen businesses breathe. Yet for many rural UK enterprises, that oxygen supply is patchy at best. While policymakers promise gigabit speeds and flashy campaigns like Project Gigabit headline the news, business owners in remote areas still wrestle with sluggish connections and high costs.

The reality of rural connectivity

The challenges facing rural businesses are well documented: long distances, sparse populations, and the commercial unattractiveness of laying fibre across fields, hills, and hedgerows.

“This lack of connectivity can significantly hinder productivity. It impacts everything from cloud-based operations and digital communications to access to online services and real-time collaboration. Ultimately, poor connectivity can limit a business’s ability to scale, compete, and attract talent,” says Katy Liddell, Director of Business Operations at VodafoneThree.

“The most common challenges include limited availability of full-fibre connections, high latency, slow upload and download speeds, and a lack of resilience. In today’s digital economy, reliable, high-speed connectivity isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity,” agrees Craig Messer, Managing Director at VeloxServ Communications.
Neil Heffernan, Group COO of Wifinity, doesn’t mince words: “the biggest problem is cost. Fibre is much more expensive to deliver to rural premises, and major providers go where the return on investment is strongest. Rural areas sit at the bottom of the queue. Even voucher schemes add complexity, admin and risk.”

Technology lifelines

If fibre is the holy grail, rural businesses are often forced to look elsewhere for salvation. Enter satellite internet, fixed wireless access (FWA), and 5G.

“You can certainly run a smaller business through a good 5G connection. 5G is also great for sites that need a temporary solution, where there is coverage. We can deploy rapid connectivity solutions like this to support our customers where they need connectivity quickly and for a limited time, for example in the construction sector,” notes Heffernan. “Starlink is also an interesting technology, albeit more expensive than 5G. We see success in areas that it would be a challenge to otherwise connect.”
Messer believes that hybrid solutions incorporating FWA, 5G and LEO satellite internet are key to closing the digital divide.

“These technologies offer greater reach, faster deployment times, and increasingly competitive speeds. For example, hybrid connectivity solutions that combine fibre with wireless or satellite can offer the resilience and bandwidth that remote businesses need. Coupled with SD-WAN and intelligent network management, we can now optimise performance even in areas with limited infrastructure,” says Messer. “What’s exciting is that these technologies are becoming more accessible and affordable for our partners to offer rural customers, allowing more rural businesses to participate in the digital economy on equal footing.”

Liddell highlights one of VodafoneThree’s recent world-first project: “we are pioneering satellite-supported connectivity as an additional way to bring broadband to areas where even mobile infrastructure is limited. In early 2025, we successfully conducted a world-first satellite video call using a standard smartphone and AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird LEO satellites. The call, made from a mobile ‘not-spot’ in the Welsh mountains, demonstrated how smartphones can seamlessly connect to satellites without any special hardware. With speeds of up to 120Mbps, these satellites support high-throughput applications such as video streaming and messaging, offering a powerful alternative where neither fibre nor FWA is feasible.”

Policy and investment pressures

While technology helps, real progress comes from infrastructure investment and supportive government policy.

“Public-private programmes like Project Gigabit provide the financial backing to make rural deployment commercially viable. But there’s still work to be done in streamlining planning processes, ensuring long-term funding continuity, and promoting infrastructure sharing,” notes Messer.

Of course, one of the key problems with rural enterprise connectivity is achieving a good return on investment (ROI) in a timely manner.

“Infrastructure investors are the critical enabler to providing connectivity, but everyone investing is reasonably looking for good payback - and payback is easier in a denser populated area,” explains Heffernan. “Government schemes, for example vouchers, do help to normalise that bit, but they do not go all the way, and they’re complex to administer. And there’s the risk that you might not get them. Even simple builds can become bureaucratic. Wayleaves can be difficult, there are difficulties doing street works, plus extra permissions are needed. Relationships and local expertise become very important.”

“Ultimately, the UK’s economic competitiveness depends on connectivity equity. Empowering rural enterprises through robust broadband infrastructure unlocks innovation, supports job creation, and sustains local communities. It’s a shared responsibility — one that we’re committed to driving forward,” adds Messer.

Advice for rural enterprises

So, what should businesses do while waiting for fibre to reach their postcode?

The first step is to thoroughly assess what connectivity options are available in the area - this includes not only fibre but also FWA and business-grade mobile broadband solutions.

“If fibre isn’t available or your timescales are challenging, FWA can often provide a reliable and scalable alternative, particularly with the growing footprint of 5G across rural regions,” says Liddell. “We also recommend considering connectivity as a core part of your business continuity and growth strategy - engage with your service provider to explore backup solutions and keep an eye on government funding opportunities or infrastructure rollouts in your area.”

Heffernan’s advice is pragmatic: “make sure you’ve explored all avenues for fibre. Altnets and specialist providers can often be more flexible than the big ISPs. In Wifinity’s case for example, we specialise in hard to reach, remote sites like holiday parks and MOD bases. We’re a specialist provider, with the necessary expertise and agility to get complex sites connected. And don’t go it alone — clubbing together with other local enterprises builds demand and makes you more commercially appealing.”

Messer recommends strategic investment in business-grade connectivity solutions; prioritising redundancy and failover; embracing edge technologies and local hosting; and planning for scalability.

“Consumer-grade broadband often lacks the resilience required for consistent performance. Explore leased lines, conduct a connectivity audit, prioritise redundancy, and partner with providers who understand rural infrastructure. Connectivity is no longer a utility — it’s a critical enabler of innovation, growth, and resilience,” shares Messer.

The bottom line

For rural enterprises, connectivity remains a daily challenge. But between smarter use of emerging technologies, increasing infrastructure investment, and the persistence of innovative providers, the digital divide is slowly narrowing. Geography should no longer dictate a company’s ability to thrive online.