Warwickshire council invests £3m for faster broadband

An extra £3m is being invested by Warwickshire County Council to get faster internet access for the county.

The money will go towards matching the £4.07m promised by the government body overseeing the roll-out of superfast broadband across the country.

Councillor Alan Cockburn said: "Superfast broadband is an absolutely essential technology for our rural communities."

He said roll-out of high speed broadband could begin in 2013.

The council has also committed an additional £500,000 for the costs associated with running the project.

The balance of the funding will be provided by Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and the five districts and boroughs within Warwickshire.

Councillor Cockburn said: "Our draft local broadband plan has been submitted and, subject to approval, the project team expect to be ready to start the procurement phase of the project by July this year, with roll-out of the enabling infrastructure commencing in 2013."

Plans for 'superfast' broadband in Coventry backed by councillors

PLANS to provide super-fast broadband to pockets of Coventry which have no coverage are being backed by city council leaders.

They say it is vital to the city’s future prospects that the whole city is effectively connected to the internet.

The north east of the city around the Ricoh Arena and over the Warwickshire border around Exhall has been identified as one area needing improvement.

Councillor Linda Bigham (Lab, Longford), cabinet member for city development, said: “It is one area where broadband is particularly necessary for employment.

“It’s an area where we expect growth around the Ricoh Arena, with the NUCKLE train service stopping there.”

Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council are working on a joint project to boost the sub-region’s broadband infrastructure.

A Coventry City Council report states: “It is vital to our economic recovery and future growth, to supporting an engaged and connected community across the whole sub-region, and to enable the public sector to bring a new approach to the way it works with residents and businesses.”

The government aims to ensure broadband access is available to all UK properties by 2015 in large local authority areas, with superfast broadband available to at least 90 per cent of homes and businesses.

It has established a £530million funding pot to fill the gaps in coverage not filled by private sector companies.

Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull councils hope to access some of that funding by drawing up a Local Broadband Plan for the government.

It sets out how the three authorities aim to meet the government’s targets.

The report states: “Whilst Coventry has a well developed broadband infrastructure, there are still pockets within the city which have no coverage. The situation in Solihull is similar.

“There is a significant challenge in rural Warwickshire where the broadband infrastructure is far less well developed.”

It is estimated filling the gaps in our sub-region will cost £9.6million, and Coventry will need just £65,204 to complete its work – to be split between the government’s fund and council coffers.

If the plan is approved by the government, one of the three councils will hire a private firm to do the infrastructure work in time to meet the government’s 2015 target.

Funding for faster rural broadband is approved

FASTER internet will be coming to the Warwickshire countryside after major funding was agreed last week.

Warwickshire County Council will contribute £3 million towards funding required to match more than £4 million available for the sub-region from Broadband Delivery UK, the Government body overseeing the roll-out of superfast broadband.

The authority’s cabinet committee also committed £500,000 towards running the project. The balance will be provided by Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and the five districts and borough councils in Warwickshire.

A draft plan was submitted to BDUK last week outlining current broadband provision and the sub-regional approach to improving broadband speeds.

Cllr Alan Cockburn, responsible for sustainable communities, said: “Superfast broadband is an absolutely essential technology for our rural communities and they desperately need a service that is fit for the future.”

The county council is urging residents and businesses to register their demand for faster broadband and is recruiting ‘champions’ to promote the project in villages. Email broadband@warwickshire.gov.uk or call 412984.

http://www.cswbroadband.org.uk