This week I met with senior representatives from Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) and Gigaclear, the company awarded the contract to deliver the rollout of broadband across Devon and Somerset County Council areas, in Westminster.
In 2016, Gigaclear promised to deliver:
'... a £62.25m million network to an additional 35,225 of the hardest to reach homes and businesses in the region by 2019. This means that homes and businesses will be able to access speeds of up to 1gbps.'
However, we are no where near this result and along with my colleagues representing constituencies affected across the region, we have called them to account for the lack of progress towards the fulfilment of this promise.
Strong and reliable broadband service is essential for the flourishing of our rural communities - both for the future of local businesses and also for the enjoyment of many modern services only available via the internet. The current state of play is simply not good enough.
We have also written to the Head of Service for Economy, Enterprise and Skills calling upon her to ensure that CDS now take responsibility for the poor delivery of the super fast broadband programme, fund an interim solution and work to ensure residents have access to all that they have been promised.
A copy of the letter is available below.