Broadband: Rutland and Melton
(asked on 2nd February 2022) - View Source
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her timetable is for commencing the rollout of gigabit broadband in Rutland and Melton constituency.
Commercial delivery of gigabit broadband is extending rapidly and according to the independent website www.thinkbroadband.com over 35% of premises in the Rutland and Melton constituency now have access to gigabit broadband. Approximately 95% have access to superfast broadband with speeds of at least 30 Mbps.
Alongside further commercial roll-out of gigabit broadband, premises in Rutland and Melton which are not within the scope of commercial coverage will be eligible for support through the £210 million Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) or through Project Gigabit procurements.
The Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. It enables households and businesses to club together to increase the total subsidy of a project to cover most, or all, of the costs for installation to eligible areas. Further information on the scheme is available on the GBVS website.
Premises within the constituency of Rutland and Melton are covered by three separate Project Gigabit procurement processes:
Most of the constituency falls within Lot 11 which covers Leicestershire and Warwickshire, with some further premises in Lot 10 which focuses on Nottinghamshire and the West of Lincolnshire. These areas are both anticipated to commence procurement between November 2022 and January 2023, before an estimated contract start date of between October 2023 and December 2023.
Most of the remaining premises are covered by Lot 5 which covers Cambridgeshire and adjacent areas. This area is currently in procurement with an estimated contract start date of between November and December this year.
A small number of premises are included within Lot 23 which is focused on Lincolnshire and East Riding. This procurement is targeted to commence between May and July 2023, before an estimated contract start date of between April and June 2024.