To consider further phases of the delivery of high speed broadband across Herefordshire.

The cabinet member for economy and corporate services introduced the item and explained the history to the second phase of the introduction of faster broadband across the county:

•           the original contract with BT was signed in 2013 with deployment to commercial premises in Hereford, Leominster and Ledbury and covering 45% of premises;

•           match-funding was available through Leader UK for £10m;

•           the majority of contracts were under a standard government agreement but Herefordshire was a primary area of activity and so had its own framework with Gloucestershire;

•           the challenge was due to the distribution of population with no uninhabited areas and 55,000 premises were covered;

•           officers had done a good job to get to this point but there was still work to be done before commercial roll-out reached 88%

There was a commitment by 2018 to have delivered fast broadband to those who needed it and the plan was to extend the contract with BT followed by tenders for other funding sources to complete the coverage.  However it was decided to not extend the contract with BT after the original contract ended in 2016. 

The new provider was looking at supply by postcode rather than individual premises and will cover 100% compared with the current BT contract. A new 4-stage strategy was identified to enable the supply to extend over higher ground with wireless so enabling supply.   Consultation included Herefordshire business board who had given their support. A business seminar and a members’ training session had taken place with good response and the proposal had support and endorsement from the Members of Parliament.  The proposal presented a unique but rewarding scenario without which businesses would not be able to compete in the global market.

The chairman of the general overview and scrutiny committee saw the proposal as encouraging for the future and asked about developments for other digital networks for wireless telephony where poor mobile phone coverage impacted on business and safety.  The cabinet member clarified that he had written to the minister as this issue had been shelved by treasury. The provider, BDUK, was aware and would also raise the matter.

In answer to a question from the group leader of the Liberal Democrats in relation to apparent lack of progress in the west of the county, it was explained that the map presented with the report was illustrative in order to identify milestones and that with the change of contract the way the strategy was communicated would change.

The group leader of It’s Our County, although pleased to see the gap being met, remarked on the speed of 30 megabytes not being superfast in practice and would not attract new practices.

The cabinet member responded by explaining that this was a European standard for 2020 but the council was aiming for 2018 and advised that major businesses would be using direct fibre and Ethernet rather than domestic broadband.  In response the group leader commented that he was concerned that the self-employed and those working on the domestic network might be disadvantaged.

RESOLVED

THAT:

in agreement with Gloucestershire County Council,

(a)        the revised Fastershire Broadband Strategy 2014-18 attached at appendix 1 to this report is adopted;

(b)       the procurement of Lot 2  covering the Golden Valley and the Forest of Dean commence in January 2016; and

authority be delegated to the director for economy, communities and corporate following consultation with the cabinet member for economy and corporate services, to award the Lot 2 contract within the financial envelope set out in paragraph 33 of this report.