Super-fast broadband scheme banks £5.5million

FASTER broadband connections will be installed at public buildings across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire thanks to a £5.5million government windfall.

The CSW Broadband Project, which is bringing faster broadband to those parts of the region where there are no commercial plans for upgrades, has banked the money from the Local Full Fibre Networks Challenge Fund.

The bid will invest in 1Gbps-capable full fibre networks in the most expensive and hard-to-reach public buildings across the project area, such as rural schools, fire stations and libraries.

The project will go out to tender for a contractor to carry out the public sector building connectivity upgrades, and that the successful bidder will, at their own cost, upgrade connections to residential and business properties along the fibre route.

Thirteen areas across the UK will share £95million in from the first wave of funding from the Government’s £190 million Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN), the Chancellor has announced in Tuesday's Spring Statement.

The Gigabit Voucher Scheme, which allows small or medium business to apply for grants of up to £3,000 to upgrade their broadband, and piloted in Coventry and Warwickshire, will also now continue as a national scheme.

Cllr Kam Kaur, portfolio holder for customer and transformation for CSW Broadband's lead partner, Warwickshire County Council, said: “This is a real opportunity to improve connectivity at some of the hardest-to-reach schools and other public buildings.

"The ultrafast, gigabit-capable, network will be a real step-change beyond the existing infrastructure and will bring exciting education, business and other opportunities to those who are able to connect to the new network.

“It is early days, and we do not yet have the detail of what has been awarded, but the CSW Broadband team hopes to be in a position to scope the work and to start the procurement process over the next few months."

CSW Broadband is made up of Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council, in partnership with British Telecom, the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, the UK government and the European Union.