Changes to the broadband rollout in rural Bedford is “not very satisfactory”, a borough councillor has said.
Cllr Alison Foster (Conservative, Harrold) gave her feedback on the changes during the Rural Affairs Committee meeting on Monday, 25 November.
Justine Ives, team leader for economic development at the borough council, told the committee that the council will no longer have any direct involvement with Project Gigabit enquiries.
Project Gigabit was launched in 2021 as the government’s “flagship” £5 billion programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband.
Ms Ives said: “The government’s policy was to provide funding to support the rollout to those areas of the UK where commercial rollout is not economically viable.
“Coverage now stands at 98.6 per cent in the borough for super fast broadband, which is equivalent to greater or equal to 30Mbps download
“In terms of gigabit speeds it’s at 84.7 per cent, but there is quite a significant difference between the rural areas and the urban areas.
“Unfortunately, we will no longer have any direct influence on the rollout,” Ms Ives said.
The committee heard that the approach to deploying the full fibre infrastructure will be different, with 85 per cent being carried out commercially by Openreach and other suppliers.
The remaining 15 per cent will be picked up by the central government through Project Gigabit.
“We have no sight of specific commercial plans and we have no influence over them,” Ms Ives said.
“Nor have the private companies any obligation to share their plans with us as their deployment is done on a commercial basis.
“Whilst the majority of premises will be covered by commercial activity or Project Gigabit, those parts of the borough where this is not currently possible the government is considering alternative ways to improve connectivity.
“Any enquiries relating to Project Gigabit will need to be addressed to Building Digital UK (BDUK).”
Cllr Foster said: “So this is basically going to leave our very rural and sparsely populated villages without. Or just at the mercy of these commercial operators, or at the mercy of the government. Well, I’m sorry, but that’s not very satisfactory.”
Building Digital UK (BDUK) is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
