BT 'is failing Shropshire on broadband'

The telecoms giant was also criticised in a scathing report from the Government's Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

It accused BT of "significantly under-investing" in Openreach, which is responsible for rolling out super-fast broadband across the UK.

The report included written responses from dozens of bodies, including Shropshire Council, which delivered a damning assessment of broadband investment in local broadband.

One question asked by Government was about whether BT and other communications companies are investing enough to reach remote communities, to which Shropshire Council said "no".

The council accused BT of investing in urban areas but letting down rural areas like Shropshire that are "geographically challenged". It added: "Suppliers should see rural communities as a high potential 'take up' market.

"BT has the technological solutions already available but is unwilling to take the commercial risk of deploying."

The statement backs the claims of rural residents, particularly in south Shropshire, who have complained that Openreach has failed to bring superfast broadband to communities that need it most.

MPs have warned if it does not ramp up investment in Openreach and address poor service, Ofcom should force BT to split off the division, and Shropshire Council also endorsed that possibility.

The authority has worked with BT and national broadband delivery body BDUK in the Connecting Shropshire programme of fibre broadband.

BT said it was "disappointed" and said it had invested more than £1 billion a year in broadband infrastructure.