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If you live in rural Norfolk and you're reading this - congratulations!

It can be quite an achievement getting on the internet - even more so getting a decent enough speed to do anything once you're connected.

And the man responsible for overseeing the service understands.

"One thing I am very clear about is that the need (for decent broadband) is very, very acute in Norfolk," says Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary after meeting with a delegation of Norfolk MPs and local councillors.

"Our objective is to make sure that every household in the UK gets broadband by the end of this parliament.

"There are still 160,000 households who can't get it and a number of those are in Norfolk. What I want to do is work with the MPs and county councillors to find the best way of doing this."

People in urban areas may scoff but the lack of decent broadband is becoming a big issue in rural Norfolk.

Here is just one example: The company Liftshare.com is based in the centre of Attleborough, just a few hundred yards away from the telephone exchange and it gets a good connection speed.

It wants to expand and has planning permission for a larger premises on the outskirts of town.

But the company can't move the mile-and-a-half down the road because on the outskirts of town the broadband speed is too slow.

Ali Clabburn of Liftshare says: "It is essential in business for everyone to have a level playing field, but at the moment in Norfolk unless you happen to be lucky enough to live in the centre of town you just don't have access to high enough broadband speeds."

Norfolk's MPs (seven Conservative, two Lib Dem) have made improving the region's infrastructure their main priority. Last week they were lobbying Danny Alexander at the Treasury. This week it's Jeremy Hunt.

"Norfolk is world class," says Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman, "but with poor broadband, a poor A11 and poor rail links we will never reach our full potential."

The Government has said that despite the spending squeeze, infrastructure projects which boost the economy will still be funded. This is why the Norfolk MPs are working so hard.

There will also be three pilot projects in rural parts of Britain aimed at improving broadband; they're hoping for a slice of that too.

So far there has been little evidence that the coalition Government is prepared to invest in the East with most of its spending going to the North and Midlands where ministers claim it's more needed.

The question is whether the Norfolk MPs will really be able to make a difference?

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