Broadband access for rural areas will be prioritised by the government, according to the new environment and rural affairs minister.

Rural broadband will be the focus for the coalition as it seeks to make sure home and business users in remote areas are not left behind, while the rest of country becomes linked to superfast broadband such as fibre-optic networks.

Caroline Spelman, the secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs has called for immediate high-level talks with internet service providers to address the problems being faced by rural communities.

"We will prioritise the roll-out of broadband to rural neighbourhoods, bringing everyone the same benefits and opportunities of digital technology which so many of us already enjoy," she said in the Yorkshire Post.

The government has already stated its intention of ensuring everyone in the UK has access to broadband by 2020, and could use part of the television licence fee to fund the roll-out of superfast networks in rural areas.

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