The Country, Land & Business Association (CLA) has welcomed the Conservative Party's recent pledge on super-fast broadband.

Earlier in the week, the Tories vowed to make high-speed services universally available by 2017.

Responding to proposals, CLA President William Worsley said "adequate and effective" broadband services for all is "fundamental to the economic well-being of rural Britain", and must be delivered as soon as possible.

He claimed that by 2017, many countryside-based firms will have become insolvent or moved to urban areas.

Mr Worsley stated: "We need to get the basics right and provide a suitable broadband connection to the 20 per cent of rural areas that have no access. This is the priority and requires immediate investment."

He suggested that the Conservatives' suggestion of using funds from the BBC licence fee is "justified", because content-rich communication from media organisations is driving the need for greater broadband speeds.