THE news that BT has decided our nearest market town should have the benefits that go with their broadband service is greatly to be welcomed.

It is a system whereby communicating electronically is made easier and much quicker and the number of ways of using the service at the same time is also increased.

Local businesses have been campaigning for this facility since first it was announced and now enough subscribers have committed themselves to make it worthwhile.

Lord Cunliffe is quoted as saying the world is divided into those who climb trees, and those who do not.

It is also divided into those who use electronic communication and those who do not. It is, to some extent, a division by age, but by no means exclusively.

The "silver surfers" are those who surf the net, but whose hair has changed colour. Increasingly, e-mail is used in everyday transactions and communication. It is certainly a very useful way of telling a group the same thing at the same time.

There are problems. It is annoying when some technical incompatibility means one computer cannot transmit to another. You do not get that problem with postmen.

However, postmen take quite a bit longer. The post is also more expensive. Sending a piece of information down the line takes no time at all. The charge is tiny.

The opportunities for business to use the Internet and electronic communications are much greater than for private individuals. Ordering becomes far easier, deliveries can be arranged. In America it is used, for example, to order taxis.

It is possible to communicate around the world as quickly as down the road. A friend of mine who has an interest in a dairy herd in New Zealand knows each day how much milk they have given. When he was involved in dairying in this country he had to go and look at the weekly records, which used to involve a car journey.

There is still much suspicion of the way in which computers operate. Almost every time anything goes wrong the computer is blamed. It is said to be the reason that the new Family Tax Credit system is not working. It is said to be the reason that many state pensions will not be fully paid up. How many times have we all heard it blamed for countless problems when we ring up to make an inquiry?

The truth is that computers are a tool. The old saying is that the bad workman blames his tools, but without the tools appropriate to the job things do not get done.

However it is the workman who specifies the tools. The computer does not make any decisions. All it does is to carry out the job as it has been told to do. So if it is trying to work outside its capacity it will fail.

Those of us who live in rural areas may well also want to work in rural areas. The lack of a long commute to work is part of the benefit, both on an individual basis and on public policy grounds. To achieve that desirable objective jobs must be provided in rural areas.

We do not have the consumers in the country necessary for some kinds of business, but we have the space and many of the skills.

We need the technical back up to enable businesses to provide jobs that are sustainable.

BT's decision to provide part of that technical back up in part of the countryside is most welcome.

Updated: 11:32 Tuesday, May 27, 2003