Agenda item

Report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport.

30.1     The Team Manager, Economic Development introduced the report which sets out the progress to date in the delivery of the Superfast Broadband Project that has included work in all 64 telephone exchange areas included in the Project’s intervention area. In the early phases of the project the main method of delivery was via fibre to the cabinet but has also included fibre to the premises. The final stages of the Project contract have been targeted at trying to connect the very hard to reach properties commercially, and the final contract has solely used fibre to the premises.

30.2     In essence, the Project aims to deliver access to superfast broadband speeds where the commercial market on its own would not. As at February 2022 there is 98% coverage for superfast broadband in East Sussex, and the Project uptake for superfast services is 64%. This has exceeded the original service uptake estimates and has enabled the Project to re-invest in further provision.

30.3     East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has set aside £500,000 to provide additional support to the Gigabit Voucher Scheme. There has been a lot of interest in the Voucher Scheme, but as yet there has not been a great level of uptake. The future delivery of Gigabit capable services through Project Gigabit will be through the government body Building Digital UK (BDUK). It is expected that BDUK will notify ESCC of the project intervention area sometime between August and October 2022 and implementation will start sometime between July and September 2023.

30.4     The Committee asked a number of questions about the Superfast Broadband Project, and the update given on the Gigabit Voucher Scheme and Project Gigabit. A summary of the discussion and points made is outlined below.

Gigabit services and Gigabit Voucher Scheme

30.5     The Committee noted that the provision of gigabit services in larger towns in the County (e.g. Bexhill, Eastbourne, Hasting, Lewes) are covered by commercial providers, but the smaller towns are also important such as Hailsham, Uckfield, etc. The Committee asked if the uptake of the Gigabit Voucher Scheme is low, whether ESCC should be more involved in promoting the Scheme. The Team Manager, Economic Development commented that the take up of the Gigabit Voucher Scheme may not necessarily be low because ESCC only becomes aware when an application is made for a top up, so there may be more uptake. The difference with the Voucher Scheme is that it relies on communities getting together to make an application and drive projects forward. There is information on the ESCC web site about the Voucher Scheme and the Team would like to publicise it more but is constrained by resources.

30.6     The Committee commented that the top up for the Voucher Scheme is available for those premises with speeds under 30 Megabits, but previously this was available to those with speeds under 100 megabits, which is having an impact on uptake. This also causes difficulties for some Voucher projects reaching thresholds for the number of properties included in the application. The Team Manager, Economic Development responded that 30 megabits was set as the limit to target the available funding of £500,000 at those premises with the lowest speeds. However, the Voucher Scheme is only one part of the support available. The application thresholds are set by suppliers and there is a possibility that this could be brought down. It was clarified that the definition of a group project is two or more people, but it is better if the people involved are located close together.

30.7     The Committee asked who was responsible for the rollout of gigabit capable services. The Team Manager, Economic Development outlined that the private sector is leading the rollout of gigabit (1,000 Megabits per second, or Mbps) capable services and the Government is expecting that the private sector will rollout most of the provision. Where the market is not planning to provide gigabit capable services then Project Gigabit led by BDUK will be responsible for the rollout.

Fibre Connections

30.8     The Committee asked about the role of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in connecting customers to the fibre infrastructure either in the nearest cabinet or at another point in the community. The Team Manager, Economic Development explained that in the first stages of the Project, the fibre infrastructure was provided to the nearest cabinet and the last part of the connection was over existing copper cables. With fibre to the premises provision (which uses a fibre optic cable throughout the connection to the premises) the ISP will make the final connection between a cabinet or point in the community and the customer’s premises. How the final connection is charged for is up to the provider.

Final contract and future proofing

30.9     The Committee asked why the figures for the number of properties was lower for the final contract; how easy will it be for the Project infrastructure to be utilised in future; and where are the properties that ESSC is struggling to connect and what are we doing to connect them. The Team Manager, Economic Development responded that in terms of future proofing the Project infrastructure, it has used the best technology currently available. The hard to reach premises are more costly to connect relatively speaking, which has meant the figures for the number of properties that can be connected for the money available is lower. The final contract is delivering gigabit capable services and those premises that the ESCC Superfast Broadband Project is unable to reach will be covered by the Government’s Project Gigabit. It is estimated that there around 400 properties still with speeds less the 2 Mbps and around 1,500 premises (0.58% of the total) that have speeds under 10 Mbps that the ESCC Project will not be able to reach, which are scattered around the County.

30.10   It was clarified that the Project Gigabit will cover the final properties without access to superfast broadband services, and that Project Gigabit includes mobile as well as fixed line solutions.

30.11   The Committee RESOLVED to note:

(1) The progress of the Council’s third (and final) contract under the national superfast broadband programme; and

(2) The information about future infrastructure build under the Government’s “Project Gigabit” programme, including Gigabit Vouchers.