IT was claimed by a Wiltshire Councillor this week that in a modern society having access to good internet is a basic human right.

With the amount of things going online now, it’s fair to say he might have a point.

Most jobs you’ll only hear about online. Products are cheaper online. And, of course, the clincher, BBC3 is now an online-only channel.

The Standard has previously commented on the dire internet service many rural areas have to suffer, but the problem persists.

Malmesbury is but a couple of hours drive from our capital city, so why is it treated like it’s in the out-back of Australia, grovelling for half-usable internet?

Speaking to residents in the town this week, there was an air of defeatism. A sense of ‘well it’s just something we’ve come to accept’.

It shouldn’t be that way. It’s 2016 and we’re supposed to be one of the leading economies in the world.

Rolling out broadband to rural towns – leave aside the dire state of some villages’ internet provision – should not be beyond the realms of possibility.

A number of businesses in Malmesbury have even had to invest in ‘boosters’ for their internet, at great cost.

Fast and effective broadband should be obtainable right across the country, no ifs, no buts.