Gloucestershire Scrutiny Committee Broadband Inquiry Presentation 9/9/14 Natalia Silver / Matt Smith
Fastershire deployment • To increase access to Broadband in rural areas • Partnership between two counties • One of four national pilots • Bespoke procurement • Contract signed with BT December 2012 • Mobilisation leading to delivery since July 2013 • Digital inclusion and communications
Investment in Gloucestershire
Rationale • Market Failure • Without subsidy rural areas will become increasingly marginalised by lack of sufficient connectivity • Economic • Fast, reliable & resilient internet access increasingly important for business & society • Evermore bandwidth hungry applications entering the market • Greater need to be running multiple applications across the same connection • Increased need to access fast upload potential particularly for some business sectors • Community • Access to services • Reduced Isolation
The Challenge • NGA Broadband (& for the most part Fibre) viewed as the future proofed solution • Commercial Deployment to date has only extended into the more urban areas of the UK • Commercial viability in rural Herefordshire and Cotswolds some of the lowest in the UK
What will be Delivered • Deployment 2013-2015 – >1m working hours – 2,500 Km fibre laid – C 800 structures – Can involve some disruption • Peak Deployment 2014/15 • Coverage – 100% USC – Satellite Eligible Area – C 90% Fibre FTTC &FTTP
FTTC & FTTP
Eligible Vs Non Eligible • Definition • Expert reports • OMR – BT, Virgin & Others • State Aid Consultation
Eligible Vs Non Eligible • Refinement (Prioritising rural areas) – Potential audit issues (based on postcodes but served by technical catchments, need to assure the eligibility of costs) e.g. Cab 209 in Cheltenham – Assumed Data Issues (visa-versa) – Time Lag for New Estates (as we saw with Kingsway) – Likelihood of commercial investment in the future – Likelihood of acceptable current speeds (82% of refined postcodes receive over 10Mbps) though this is not universal clearly
Stage 1 & 2 Commercial Likely position at the end of 2015 The geographical spread will change
Governance • Formal partnership between the two councils • Local authority cabinet committees • Project Board • Strategic Operational Meetings • BDUK oversight • The team
Contract Management • Optimal Deployment (Non Interventionist) • Milestone Areas • Payment Mechanism – Schedule 5 – Premise Targets & Subsidy cap – Longstop Dates – Delay, Relief & Premise Cap • Premises Passed Assurance Process
Differences between Fastershire & Framework Fastershire Framework Pros Greater Rural Spread Earlier delivery of high volumes More rural delivery tackled earlier Less slippage likely in early deployments Long stop dates & subsidy caps provide greater Less management and oversight burden contractual controls Baseline means BT need to deliver against the original picture Cons Slower delivery of high volumes Difficult areas tackled later Slippage more likely as difficult areas tackled first BT may be less inclined to deliver these Lag in financial spend as BT are prevented from later in the programme claiming for costs until triggers are met BT able to deliver against what exists making the challenge easier but with the affect of less rural delivery
Fastershire Broadband Strategy 2014-16 • New Funding • New OMR / State Aid Consultation – Premises Level • Redefined Eligible Area (Accounting for Persisting Market Failure) Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5
Cotswolds Procurement 435 Km 2 Area Population Total Premises = 4,135 Residential Premises = 3,922 Business Premises = 213 Demand Registration 675 household responses 77 Business Survey Responses According to Ofcom, the postcodes for which they Existing Provision have meaningful data within the lot area shows a mean average of 4.8Mbps and a median of 4.7Mbps Cotswold Wireless also operate in the area Timescales Begin procurement October 2014 Completion 2016 Indicative Max £1.7M Subsidy
Questions Received Q. “When the purpose of the initiative was to provide fibre to rural locations which are not commercially viable, why has Fastershire prioritised more densely populated areas with the consequence that the money has run out to upgrade the most difficult locations?” A. We are not, due to refinement, Milestone Area targets and subsidy caps, Fastershire has maximised rural delivery. However there is not enough money to solve the problem. We are also a testing ground for new technologies such as WTTC in Hardwicke
Questions Received Q. “What guarantee can Fastershire give that rural areas like Chedworth and Yanworth as F10 locations will get fibre in the 2016 round? All solutions depend on having fibre backhaul to a nearby exchange. A. Unfortunately at this stage we can not give guarantees regarding specific localities. We need to progress the intentions of the Fastershire strategy 14- 18 with suppliers.
Commercial viability – what factors are present Commercial programme – headline numbers for Gloucestershire On hold cabs – status, headline numbers and specific examples New Technology – e.g. WTTC, FTTRN and the potential to extend coverage
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