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West Country councils mulling joint broadband plan
Bath could collaborate with Bristol and South Gloucestershire on a joint broadband strategy.
BT is currently rolling out fibre optic broadband to homes and businesses in the West Country city, but estimates from the local authority suggest as many as 35,000 properties in rural areas will miss out on next-generation access unless public subsidies are put forward, reports the Bath Chronicle.
Some 9,000 premises will be stuck with speeds of lower than 1Mbps, while 2,500 will only receive download capabilities of between 1Mbps and 2Mbps.
In order to tackle the issue of sub-standard connectivity in rural areas, Bath and North-East Somerset (B&NES) Council is considering how to use the £1.43 million of government funding put forward to improve broadband provision in the former Avon region.
At a meeting next Wednesday (November 9th 2011), councillors will be asked whether an initial £25,000 should be spent on the development of a broadband delivery strategy in partnership with Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
They will also discuss how improved broadband coverage would benefit the local economy.
Shadow cabinet member for sustainable development councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones said high-speed rural broadband funding is an opportunity that the area "cannot afford to miss".
"It will not just benefit local residents, but also help boost our local economy by helping small businesses," he remarked.
"The government has pledged to provide funding to help deliver broadband where commercial operators aren't installing it themselves. We want B&NES to be among the first to benefit from this."
According to figures published earlier this year by Ofcom, the average broadband speed in Bath and North-East Somerset currently stands at 7.2Mbps and 77 per cent of local homes and businesses can access super-fast broadband.
However, 15.2 per cent of properties in the area are stuck with download rates of less than 2Mbps.