To consider the progress of the Broadband project to date and comment upon the continued investment in delivering Superfast Broadband.

The Chairman invited one speaker to address the Committee in relation to Superfast Broadband. The speaker raised issues that in summary related to the following:-

·           Broadband speeds in Bourne End were incredibly slow, averaging 1.3 Megabits per Second (Mbps) which she felt was unacceptable.

·           The lack of speed negatively impacted students, those working from home and residents living in the area.

·           Getting BT to take action had been problematic and it was often difficult to speak with the most appropriate person.

·           The speaker asked the Committee and Council as a whole to put pressure on BT to remedy the problem where residents could not.

In response The Deputy Executive Member for Corporate Resources explained that Central Bedfordshire Council was aware of the issue in Bourne End and said he fully appreciated that Internet access was an essential service for many people.  He explained that Bourne End would not be included in the first phase of Superfast Broadband delivery but during the first quarter of 2015 the Council would have a clearer picture as to which areas would be included in the second phase.  The Council was also pushing for very remote areas to be included in the next phase but the engineering costs for that were very expensive. The Head of Investment went on to say that his department did have some resource to look at particularly poor broadband speed areas and agreed to investigate further.  The Head of Investment also explained that the last part of the current project was to increase every dwelling within Central Bedfordshire to 2Mbps by 2016. However, those who were due to receive Superfast Broadband (24 Mbps) would not also receive support for the 2Mbps increase as it would be a duplication of funds.

In light of the report and the comments raised by the speaker Members discussed the following issues in detail:-

·           Whether BT was the most appropriate provider given the difficulties in resolving historic problems and lack of speed.  The Head of Investment explained that only two companies had gone through the tendering process, one had withdrawn, leaving BT as the only likely option.  The Deputy Executive Member for Corporate Resources conceded that it was disappointing so few companies had come forward for tender but due process with regards to competition and tendering had been followed under the UK Framework Agreement, ensuring competitive procedures had been adhered to.

·           The Committee were reassured that Central Bedfordshire would receive the appropriate share of the funds available and allocated to Local Authority areas.

·           Concerns regarding those homes and businesses currently receiving speeds of less than 2Mbps and the length of time before they would receive Superfast speeds, which had led to a perception of a two tier system with regards to sufficient internet access.  The Deputy Executive Member for Corporate Resources sought to reassure the Committee that the Council would combat this by ensuring recent aspects regarding planning requirements for new developments were adhered to, in particular the need for appropriate broadband installation.  Targets were for 95% of dwellings to have access to superfast broadband by 2017. 

RECOMMENDED to support the continued investment in delivering Superfast Broadband through investment in the Phase Two Broadband Project.