Researchers at the University of Essex's Institute for Social and Technical Research (Chimera) have studied the factors affecting broadband internet uptake by rural SMEs in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Their report suggests that there is a need for: clear information on broadband pricing from suppliers, making transparent the likely benefits of broadband to SMEs, and the ability for easy price/ benefit comparison of a number of broadband suppliers. The report shows that non-broadband subscribers are stuck in a vicious cycle of information poverty, which needs to be ameliorated with strategic intervention in the form of better information provision and practical advice.