A deal has been struck which could pave the wave for rural areas to be connected with superfast broadband connections.

The CLA, which represents owners of land, property and business in rural areas, has worked with the National Farmers' Union to sign a memorandum of understanding with Openreach, which is responsible for wired connections.

It is hoped the deal will help close the digital divide and speed up roll-out.

The national wayleave deal is designed to make it easier for Openreach to reach agreement with landowners over locations and payment rates for cables and other electronic communications apparatus.

This should smooth the way for a faster roll-out of fixed line broadband to rural and remote areas. It comes into operation on October 1.

CLA deputy president Mark Bridgeman said: “Landowners are a committed and crucial part of the solution to alleviate the rural-urban digital divide. It has taken almost 18 months of hard negotiation but we have secured an agreement that satisfies the Government, the infrastructure providers and our members.

“We have shown, through constructive dialogue across the industry, that roll-out is not driven by price alone.

"A proportionate increase in the annual wayleave payment, coupled with clear documentation and an effective memorandum of understanding, will hasten the roll-out of fixed line broadband beyond what is achievable by the revised Electronic Communications Code [set out in the communications act to facilitate installation and maintenance of electronic communication networks] alone.

“A robust and effective national framework has been created which brings much needed clarity and stability to the market while at the same time injecting more money into the rural economy through accelerated deployment.”

NFU vice president Stuart Roberts added: “The NFU and CLA have worked closely together to provide the means to enable landowners to easily reach an agreement with Openreach, bringing much-needed, effective broadband to rural areas.

“Statistics from the NFU show that a considerable amount of farmers do not have access to superfast broadband and in an increasingly digital world, it is crucial that our digital communications are fit for purpose. This initiative marks another step forward to ensuring our members have all they need to establish and maintain productive, profitable and progressive farming businesses.”

Kim Mears, MD of strategic infrastructure development at Openreach said: “This gives landowners certainty and clarity on our pricing and is endorsed by the CLA and NFU. The agreement will also help us speed up our rural build programme and drive the UK’s digital growth."