CLA wins support of Apprentice star

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has won the support of a former star of BBC show The Apprentice in its call for better rural broadband access.

Claire Young, runner-up in the 2008 series of the hit programme, runs a wedding venue company in Daventry in rural Northamptonshire and has had problems with a broadband connection that lacks the kind of speeds available in urban areas.

VoIP solutions can be used more effectively with faster broadband speeds, while online media content can also be downloaded more quickly.

Ms Young told ISPreview.co.uk: "Having started a new business after The Apprentice, I have first-hand experience of how crucial good broadband access is for success. Business is no longer 9am-5pm and in the current economic climate it's more demanding than ever."

The CLA reacted angrily to the recent Digital Britain report that left considerable uncertainty about how best to achieve universal connectivity in rural communities that do not have a telephone exchange nearby.