Three companies have been selected to roll-out full fibre broadband networks on behalf of the Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme, backed by Government funding.
Airband, Truespeed and Wessex Internet will be installing full fibre broadband across Devon and Somerset to more than 56,000 rural homes and businesses over the next four years.
The combined public and private sector investment of around £80million will be in the vanguard of the Government’s ambitions to build a Gigabit capable network across the UK.
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Councillor Rufus Gilbert, CDS Board Member and Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, said the plans will provide vital connectivity to rural communities.
He said: "Access to services online, home working and staying connected has never been more important, and these investments will provide a much needed boost to our rural and coastal communities”.
The three companies all have experience of working in the region and, between them, have already delivered connections to nearly 41,000 premises in the CDS region.
In the new roll-out, Airband will be expanding its full fibre coverage into rural areas of Somerset West and Taunton, parts of Sedgemoor, East Devon, as well as areas of Mid Devon, South Hams and Teignbridge.
Truespeed will be working in B&NES (Bath & North East Somerset), North Somerset, Mendip and part of Sedgemoor, while Wessex Internet will deliver in rural communities of South Somerset.
More on the economy of the South West
Work is due to start next year for completion in 2024. The initiative is being funded by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Heart of the South West LEP, CDS local authorities, European Regional Development Fund and the Rural Development Programme for England.
Councillor David Hall, CDS Board Member and Somerset County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Planning and Community Infrastructure, said the appointed firms have significant experience of delivering broadband connections in rural areas of Devon and Somerset.
He said: "They have an understanding of the remote areas where CDS is looking to improve connectivity. This investment will deliver full fibre broadband ahead of many other parts of the country.”
Evan Wienburg, Truespeed CEO, said the plans will roll-out full fibre broadband infrastructure to those areas left behind by the industry giants.
He said: "The requirement for full fibre broadband is essential as more people study and work from home. Many Truespeed customers are already benefiting from our ultra-reliable, ultra-fast broadband service and we will continue to work as hard and as fast as we can to accelerate our roll out.”
CDS has delivered connectivity to more homes and businesses than any other broadband programme in England.
Nearly one million homes and businesses in Devon and Somerset now have access to superfast broadband with the Government supported CDS programme and its stimulation of the commercial market.
Of these, over 300,000 homes and businesses have access to superfast broadband as a direct result of public funding.
Tell us about broadband in your area - are you a business in a remote part of the South West? Do you have good enough broadband to operate. Share your experience in the comments section below
As part of its Fibre Extension Programme, CDS is currently funding fibre broadband connections to over 6,000 homes and businesses being delivered by Airband. Thanks to the high level of take-up of broadband services in the region from previous connectivity delivered by Openreach, CDS is also re-investing a £6 million dividend to extend full fibre coverage to over 2,000 premises, again working with Openreach, through the Government’s “Gainshare” agreement with the company.
CDS is also working closely with the Government’s Rural Gigabit Voucher programme to support communities who wish to contract with telecoms providers to design bespoke broadband solutions for their communities. To date, over 3,400 premises in Devon and Somerset have been connected to fibre through the Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme, with another 2,800 vouchers approved for build over the next 12 months. This represents a voucher investment of nearly £7.4 Million in full fibre across the CDS region.
Investment from CDS can only take place in areas where there are no current or credible future plans to deliver Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband infrastructure capable of download speeds of at least 30Mbps.
The whole Connecting Devon and Somerset programme is expected to deliver an £800 million boost to the regional economy.
