Agenda item

Report of Cabinet Member for Environment Infrastructure and Climate Change

The Committee considered a report of the Cabinet Member for Environment Infrastructure and Climate Change updating them on the progress made in delivering Staffordshire’s Digital Infrastructure Strategic Framework (Schedule 1 to the signed minutes).

Members heard that a key priority of the County Council’s Strategic Plan was to improve digital connections and use digital technology to connect, inform and support Staffordshire’s residents. Specifically, their mission was to:- “Accelerate delivery of gigabit technologies, maximising the opportunities and benefits for the businesses and residents of Staffordshire to enable the growth of our digital economy”. Accordingly, a Digital Infrastructure Strategic Framework (DISF) was adopted in March 2021 setting out the following five key objectives:- “(i) To enable and accelerate delivery of gigabit capable technologies and infrastructure to provide full access; (ii) To maximise the opportunities and benefits of Fifth Generation Technology Standard (5G) across Staffordshire; (iii) To enable rural and digitally isolated communities where market intervention has failed; (iv) To enable the growth of the digital economy in Staffordshire and; (v) Demonstrate the benefits of gigabit technology to business and communities.

The DISF set out a framework for delivery up to 2030 at which point it was hoped that 100% gigabit (or 1,000 Megabits per second (Mbs)) connectivity of all premises in the County would be achieved.

Various national and local initiatives were being supported/pursued by the Authority in order to achieve their ambitions with regard to digital connectivity. At a national level, the Council were participating in the Government’s Project Gigabit which aimed to connect premises currently unserved with gigabit capable broadband by the commercial market. Consequently, 75 potential public sector GigaHubs including rural schools, doctor’s surgeries, libraries etc in the County had been identified and work was underway in partnership with Midlands Engine to bring these into operation.

The County Council had worked with rural communities across Staffordshire to access the UK Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme which sought to provide immediate financial help to people experiencing slow broadband speeds in rural areas. As a result of their £1m investment (plus that of Central Government), 96.95% of all premises now had broadband connectivity and a further 1,238 sites were scheduled for connection before the programme was due to end.

At a local level, the Superfast Staffordshire Programme had been developed in partnership with Building Digital UK (BDUK) and Openreach to deliver Superfast Broadband across the County. Since its inception in 2012 approximately 83,400 premises had gained access to broadband internet connectivity with greater than 24 Mbs. In addition, coverage had increased from 65% in 2013 to 96.95% in March 2022 which meant that over 400,000 premises County-wide now had access to this service.

However, whilst the fibre deployment contracts phase of the programme was now complete it was estimated that approximately 7% or 30,000 premises in Staffordshire were still without access to superfast broadband and approximately 1.05% or 4,500 premises had connectivity below 10 Mbs. Furthermore, 1% of premises Countywide were designated Very-Hard-To-Reach (VHTR) owing to their rural proximity. Therefore, the County Council were investigating alternative technological solutions in order to reach these areas.

The County Council’s investment in the Superfast programme was forecasted to return approximately £4m in gainshare funding of which £1.5 had already been received. Whilst £1.1m had been invested in the Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme, it was recognised that enabling further access to gigabit connectivity required continued shaping and influencing of the market for which additional investment was required.

During the full and wide-ranging discussion which ensued, Members gave detailed scrutiny to the progress made to date in meeting the ambitions set out in the Strategic Plan regarding digital connectivity, asking questions, seeking clarification and raising issues of concern as necessary including:- (i) the options available to the Authority in an attempt to persuade network operators to connect to ‘VHTR’ premises; (ii) issues with connections to premises already served by broadband arising from the use of outdated copper based technology; (iii) the need to identify all Staffordshire premises without an adequate broadband connection and improve services as soon as possible; (iv) the need to use new, alternative technologies to achieve the Authority’s ambition of 100% 5G coverage by 2030.

In conclusion, Members agreed that substantial progress had been made by the Authority in achieving their vision through the DISF. They were satisfied that steps were being taken in order to resolve current gaps in service provision and that these gaps only affected a relatively few locations in the County.

RESOLVED – (a) That the report be received and noted.

(b) That the progress made in delivering the County Council’s Digital Infrastructure Strategic Framework be welcomed. 

(c) That efforts to achieve 100% gigabit connectivity in Staffordshire by 2030 continue at pace.   

(b) That a further update on the progress made with regard to Digital connectivity be brought to Committee in 12 months’ time or sooner if required.