Issue - meetings

To consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, on the proposed decisions to:

1.     Invest the additional £4.545 million of available additional gainshare funding to increase superfast broadband coverage in Kent by extending the Broadband Delivery UK Phase 2 contract, subject to value for money and state aid requirements being met; and

2.     Launch a Kent Voucher scheme to support properties in final 5% locations with poor connectivity to get access to a superfast broadband service.

Elizabeth Harrison (Strategic Programme Manager) was in attendance for this item.

1. Mrs Harrison introduced the report which set out the plans to extend superfast broadband coverage across Kent  by extending the current Broadband Delivery UK Phase 2 by reinvesting the additional £4.545 million of gainshare funding available to Kent to increase the coverage of superfast broadband; and by delivering a Kent Voucher Scheme to pilot approaches for connecting properties in areas that still fell outside the scope of the extended Broadband Delivery UK Phase 2 project. The paper also provided an update to the committee on three complementary government schemes which were intended to help improve broadband connectivity.

2. In response to comments and questions, the following information was provided:

(a)  Mrs Harrison advised the committee that once the Kent Voucher Scheme had been launched, further information on how to access the vouchers would be circulated. Mrs Harrison invited Members to liaise with the responsible officers on a one-to-one basis if they required additional information.

(b)  Mrs Harrison informed the committee that there had been some issues with the street works undertaken by another provider delivering their own broadband upgrade programme, which was separate to the Council’s BDUK contract. Kent Highways Services had taken action to rectify these issues. If Members wished to report any outstanding matters, Mrs Harrison asked that these be conveyed to the Highways Team for investigation.

(c)  Mr Dance (Cabinet Member for Economic Development) said that the Kent Voucher Scheme would offer a greater range of technical solutions and would be open to properties that would not have qualified for the Government’s ‘Better Broadband Scheme’.

3. Members commended the work of the officers.

4. RESOLVED that the proposed decision to:

(a)  Invest the additional £4.545 million of available additional gainshare funding to increase superfast broadband coverage in Kent by extending the Broadband Delivery UK Phase 2 contract, subject to value for money and state aid requirements being met; and

(b)  Launch a Kent Voucher scheme to support properties in final 5% locations with poor connectivity to get access to a superfast broadband service,

be endorsed.