The Government is set to miss its target of getting 90% of homes connected to superfast broadband before 2015

As a rural MP, I have had dozens of local residents write to me – yes, often with good old-fashioned paper and pen – because they are not convinced the promised broadband scheme will be available to them.

Superfast broadband sounds fantastic.

But it’s a thorny business.

There seem to be two main problems.

One: Government forgets that many, many people live a long way from London and other major towns and cities.

And in their wisdom, Ministers have allowed BT – the only provider – to start with strengthening the coverage in towns which already have broadband and then to work outwards into the rural areas.

This is completely mad.

What ‘superfast rural broadband’ means to me is starting in those parts of England with no coverage and working back into the towns.  Not the other way round.