Agenda item

Attending for this item were:

Openreach

Matthew Galley, Partnership Director (West)

Richard Leeding, Contract Manager

Worcestershire County Council

Ken Pollock, Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure

Ste Ashton, Senior Project Manager

The Panel received a presentation from the Partnership Director of Openreach and was given an overview of the 3 Contracts undertaken to date:

Contract 1 (July 2014 to June 2016)

-       58,788 premises were provided with access to an improved fibre based broadband service, 46,814 of which were with access to superfast broadband

-       Fibre to the Cabinet take up was 58.15%

-       Fibre to the Premises take up was 19.03%

Contract 2 (July 2016 to December 2018)

-       From a target of 16,971, currently 15,421 premises were provided with access to an improved fibre based broadband service

-       From a target of 13,356, currently 10,555 premises were provided with access to superfast (24 Mbps+) speed

-       Fibre to the Cabinet take up was 50.86%

-       Fibre to the Premises take up was 17.31%

Contract 3 (July 2018 to June 2019)

-       5,313 premises were targeted for a fibre based broadband service, comprising:

§  498 were targeted for a superfast service (>30Mb)

§  4,815 were targeted for an ultrafast service (>100Mb)

Openreach advised that they had a good working relationship with the Council and the Government's national drive to ensure better access to broadband, had resulted in greater County coverage than previously planned for and at no cost to the Council.

There were challenges in very rural areas where there was less flexibility on alternative route options and road management was more complex due to narrow lanes.  In addition, there were complicated wayleaves involving multiple landowners. 

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

·         The strong working relationship between Openreach and the Council was commended

·         Members were reminded that Contract 1 was mainly targeted at achieving access to fibre based broadband and superfast speeds, largely via Fibre to the Cabinet technology, whereas in later contracts there was a focus on delivering superfast and ultrafast speeds in harder to reach areas, which was increasingly reliant on using Fibre to the Premises infrastructure

·         Demand for increased speed had increased year on year

·         The Council's £500,000 Local Body Partnership Grant had already been extended to £1m and was now fully allocated, however, there was a possibility for further extension of the fund, or reallocation, dependent on how current communities proceed

·         The offer to small rural communities through community schemes varied depending on their circumstances and therefore the costs involved differed.  In all cases, funding sources were investigated to try and find a manageable solution for the community, such as the 'Gigabit Voucher' Scheme which focussed on businesses, but could also be used to support the surrounding residential properties

·         A Member suggested that the Gigabit Voucher Scheme was complex and residents needed access to clear information to understand the Scheme.  Openreach acknowledged that the Scheme was complex and asked to be advised of any particular known areas of difficulty, which they would look into

·         The CMR confirmed that Airband was still an option available for the hard to reach rural areas and that the contract was in the process of being re-negotiated

·         Openreach confirmed that they had fibre aspirations for the whole of the County

·         The CMR also highlighted the Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) opportunity which was available for public sector parties to bid into from Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).  £200m worth of funding was made available initially and some funding had already been allocated, however the recently announced Budget allocated a further £200m to pilot innovative approaches to deploying full fibre internet in rural locations, starting with primary schools, and with a voucher scheme for homes and businesses nearby

·         There was a general agreement that investing in technology would also have unseen benefit, such as the increasing use of assistive technology for adult social care and enabling pupils to complete homework at home

·         A Member commented that some residents felt that branding on cabinets could now be removed.  Officers reported that marketing, such as wrapping the cabinet, had been a very effective tool and the take up in such areas was significant.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their participation and welcomed the clarity given.  It was agreed that:

·         Councillors would be provided with a Superfast Worcestershire Broadband Programme Update by individual Divisions; and

·         A Guidance Note on the Community Fibre Partnership in Worcestershire in order to inform and keep their communities up to date on progress.