A CAMPAIGN has been launched to persuade the Government and British Telecom to speed up access to broadband Internet services in rural areas.

The campaign has been launched by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which claims rural areas have to put up with inadequate communications, restrictive planning practices and infrequent delivery services.

Yorkshire regional director Dorothy Fairburn said: "Without faster Internet access, many rural-based businesses will simply not be able to compete in a market that depends on speed of communication and the ability to do business on-line.

"Already most urban-based businesses are able to take advantage of BT's ADSL Broadband Service. This is a tremendous help because it offers connection speeds up to 50 times faster than a traditional dial-up connection.

"It is sad, but true, that only 1,117 exchanges out of a total of 5,500 have been able to offer the service. That means that a vast rural area is without the service."

The CLA is so alarmed by the position that it is asking people to sign a petition in support of its case.

The petition can be accessed on-line at www.cla.org.uk/campaigns, or at the CLA regional office, Easingwold.

"We will use the petition to illustrate the demand for rural broadband and present it to both the Government and BT by the end of September," said Miss Fairburn.