Dear All,

Superfast broadband is getting closer. Both main parties on the county council are committed and the capital expenditure should be passed when the budget goes to full council on 21st February.

The first step is to present a business case to Broadband Development UK to ensure that the earmarked £6.75 million can be drawn down in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The business case is to be submitted by the end of this month. From March to about May the County will be attempting to prioritise roll-out of superfast broadband. This has two main strands: demand stimulation and demand registration. The objective here is firstly to encourage people to want to use superfast broadband. If enough of them can be identified in particular areas then the broadband suppliers may be willing to take a commercial decision to provide it. That saves having to use taxpayers' money. The second leads on from there and is simply to register where there is demand, which is likely to include everyone reading this. The County will undertake that exercise and I shall be on the case to ensure that it is done properly. To my mind it is essential to prioritise places where people are currently unable to run businesses or work from home efficiently because of inadequate broadband speeds.

Once that set of objectives has been met the County will meet suppliers to work out procurement, which will involve sequencing areas to receive superfast broadband. Timing of that is not entirely clear but the whole operation is being treated as a priority.

Meanwhile you may have heard that the Sawston exhange is to up-graded in Summer. As I understand it, that may be good news but not cause for too many cheers. In broadband terms the advantages of the up-grade are entirely eroded from about 1 1/2 miles from the exchange.

Just as a reminder, current broadband speeds in each area can be checked by inputting a telephone number and postcode at these websites: http://www.samknows.com
http://www.thinkbroadband.com
http://www.mybroadbandspeed.co.uk;
or BT.Com checker at http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=25795

There is now also Broadband information the Cambridgeshire County Council website. You can go directly to:

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/business/economicandcommunitydev/ecodevelopment/broadband/default.htm

You can access the Frequently Asked Questions section there.

All the best,

Tim Stone
County Councillor