Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Councillors Amos and Thomas.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 7 October 2016).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

None.

Previously circulated.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 July 2016 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Representatives from BT Group and Worcestershire County Council had been invited to the meeting.

The Strategic Commissioner reminded the Panel that as part of the first contract with the Council, there was a requirement for BT to report to Scrutiny on an annual basis and discussions had been had in 2014 and 2015.

By way of presentation, the Regional Director outlined the progress made against Contract 1 targets and the upcoming work and challenges associated with Contract 2.

Contract 1 ran from August 2013 to June 2016 and had been successfully completed, with some targets being exceeded, including faster fibre broadband being available to over 90% of residential and business premises in the County.  In addition, the whole County could access speeds in excess of 2 megabits per second (Mbps), although this may be through a voucher scheme in more remote locations. 

Contract 2 commenced in August 2016 with the purpose of increasing the fibre coverage in the County, specifically the number of premises with access to superfast speeds, defined as 24 Mbps and above.  By the end of September 2017 the target of 94% of premises to receive superfast speeds is expected to be achieved.

During the successful roll out of Contract 1, a number of challenges were overcome.  Examples included co-ordinating road closures, complicated wayleaves (whereby consent was granted for access to private land) and vandalism of cables. 

In addition to the new infrastructure, the Contract also required activity to ensure residents and businesses were aware of the availability of faster broadband and the need to 'sign-up' in order to benefit.  Promotion had been ongoing and wide ranging, from locally placed posters, stickers and fully wrapped cabinets to advertising at events such as Worcestershire County Cricket Club and through the local media.  A number of businesses had also agreed to provide case studies to show the positive impact of Superfast Worcestershire.  The website www.superfastworcestershire.com was constantly updated with news and examples of good practice.

Take up had been positive, with over 30% of premises now subscribing to fibre broadband.  For cabinets installed for over 350 days, the figure increased to 34%.

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were made:

·         It was clarified that residents and businesses would need to upgrade their internet provision to fibre broadband and as some may be locked into an existing ordinary broadband contract, it could be a number of months before being able to switch over without incurring a plenty.  It was not the case that speeds would automatically be increased when cabinets were installed

·         One Member suggested that take up of 30% was not very high, however it was pointed out that it depended on the current speed and whether people were satisfied with that

·         Although the 100% coverage of speeds in excess of 2 Mbps was potentially through a voucher scheme (which was up to the value of £400 for the provision and installation of equipment), it was clarified that a financial contribution from the homeowner would be required  ...  view the full minutes text for item 254.