*O&S
7
The Chairman introduced representatives from
Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) and Airband to the meeting.
In addition, the Chairman also welcomed the lead Devon County
Council lead Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills to the
meeting.
In their respective presentations, the
representatives made particular reference to:-
-
the main achievements of the Programme.
The representatives highlighted that the deployment of Phase 1 of
the Programme was now completed and had exceeded
targets. For example, this Phase had
seen over 300,000 Superfast Connections to homes and
businesses;
-
a summary of the West Devon Borough area. Of the 27,924 homes or businesses in the area,
there remained 2,378 that had still not had delivered (or planned
to be delivered) Superfast Connectivity;
-
take up in Phase 1 being at around 70% in the
Borough area, which was higher than the national rural programme
average;
-
the number of Community Engagement events that had
been attended by CDS representatives;
-
additional coverage and funding opportunities
via:
o
the rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme / Community
Challenge Programme;
o
Gainshare;
o
National Fibre Programme; and
o
Commercial Operator plans;
-
the Airband Programme
running to December 2021 and currently remaining on schedule;
and
-
Airband
being in receipt of nearly 25% of the total
nationwide Gigabit Voucher Scheme.
During the
subsequent debate, the following points were raised:
(a)
Whilst welcoming the progress that was being made in
respect of Superfast provision, the meeting acknowledged that this
was of scant consolation to those 2,378 homes or businesses in the
area that were currently not planned to be in receipt of such
Connectivity. In reply, the
representatives informed that they were committed to doing all that
they could for these homes and businesses;
(b)
When questioned, Members were informed that there
were different means of measuring performance. However, it was widely acknowledged that the West
Devon Borough area was in the bottom quartile in respect of
Superfast provision. This point was
widely recognised and local MPs had sent a joint letter to the
Minister for Digital and Broadband provision to highlight this
matter;
(c)
Representatives were keen to work alongside the
Council’s Rural Broadband Working Group and it was agreed
that they would be invited to attend future Group
meetings. The Committee felt it
important to also receive regular updates and it was agreed that
the best means of achieving this objectives would be discussed when
considering the latest version of its draft Annual Work Programme
(Minute O&S 11 below refers);
(d)
Members commented that it had become particularly
apparent during the recent lockdown that Superfast provision was
not only critical to homes and businesses but also for education
purposes;
(e)
With regard to the voucher scheme, whilst economies
of scale were an important factor, examples were cited of instances
where twelve isolated properties had been able to gain
connectivity. In such instances, the
importance of willing landowners was often crucial;
(f)
Members noted that neither CDS or Airband had any control ...
view the full minutes text for item *O&S 7