Government backs new 'wayleaves' package that groups claim will help rural broadband rollout

The National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Country Land & Business Association (CLBA) said that they had agreed on a new "package of advisory wayleave payment rates and terms" that can be used by private businesses when seeking to install broadband infrastructure in rural areas.

A wayleave agreement is written permission service providers generally need to obtain from private landowners in order to be able to install equipment on the landowners' property.

"The publication of the CLA and NFU rural wayleave agreement is great news," Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said in a statement. "It will go a long way to making our roll-out of rural broadband cheaper and quicker by reducing the cost and time taken in negotiating individual land access agreements, while providing certainty to communications providers and ensuring landowners receive appropriate compensation."

The Government has previously said that it wants the UK to have the most extensive 'superfast' broadband network in Europe by 2015, with access for 90% of the country. In addition it wants the remaining 10% to be able to access the internet at speeds of two megabits per second (Mbps) or above. 'Superfast' broadband is generally defined as delivering speeds of at least 24Mb per second, although it hopes to introduce 'ultrafast' speeds of between 80 and 100 Mbps in major cities. The average speed for a UK residential broadband internet connection reached 9Mbps in May, according to the latest figures from regulator Ofcom.

"The importance of good rural broadband cannot be over-emphasised," CLBA president Harry Cotterell said. "It is essential for business, whether starting up or expanding, essential for education and research and an important communication tool for all rural communities. We are confident this wayleaves package will help secure consent for a broadband infrastructure to be rolled out to the final third of the country who still suffer with chronically poor broadband."

NFU vice-president Adam Quinney said that being connected to broadband was also of growing importance to farmers.

"We know how increasingly important rural broadband connection is to farmers and those with diversified businesses," Quinney said. "We very much hope that these wayleave agreements will help to deliver broadband to the rural areas which currently have poor, unreliable or non-existent broadband connection. Fast rural broadband is essential for our forward-thinking and dynamic farming industry."