BETTER support is needed for rural communities to deliver their own superfast internet connections.

More action would inspire community enterprise initiatives that deliver superfast broadband services in rural areas, says a study.

The report, Rural Broadband - Reframing the Debate, was jointly published by the Carnegie UK Trust and the Plunkett Foundation.

Rural areas are likely to be left behind as superfast broadband technology is deployed - unless they take action themselves.

Yet many rural communities currently don't feel sufficiently inspired or empowered to take action on this issue, warns the document.

More support for these communities - and a new approach to the question of rural broadband - is therefore needed.

Carnegie UK Trust senior policy officer Douglas White said: "For many communities, solving the issue of high speed broadband provision can feel like an impossible problem.

"Due to the perceived complexity of the different technical broadband solutions, too few rural communities are being inspired to solve the broadband conundrum they are facing."

Together, Carnegie and Plunkett believe local communities are capable of achieving significant improvements when it comes to rural services such as broadband - if they are given greater ownership of the assets at their disposal.

Plunkett Foundation chief executive Peter Couchman said: "Governments and markets alone cannot meet the high aspirations of rural communities.

"The critical question to explore is how to empower rural communities to take a more active involvement in their broadband future.

"We are calling for the community enterprise model to be made more accessible, both in terms of technology and the language used to describe it."

Both rural organisations are calling for communities to be inspired and supported in their efforts to set up their own broadband services.

They want communities to footsteps of pioneering communities like Cybermoor in Cumbria and Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN).

The full report can be downloaded here.

It includes recommendations to national and local governments, rural and community enterprise support organisations, the telecommunications industry and rural communities.