Two Somerset MPs are pushing the government for better broadband speeds in rural areas following the announcement of a new delivery contract. Rural areas of Somerset have struggled to secure fast broadband for more than a decade, with numerous providers handing back contracts within the Connecting Devon and Somerset programme and associated initiatives.
The new Labour government announced on Tuesday (January 7) that it had signed a £77m contract to bring superfast broadband to “hard to reach rural areas” in Devon and Somerset, bringing on the existing agreements with Openreach as part of Project Gigabit. Gideon Amos MP and Rachel Gilmour MP have both lobbied data protection and telecoms minister Sir Chris Bryant MP to ensure that their constituencies are included within these contracts, which are expected to reach around 37,000 properties across the two counties.
Mr Bryant said: “For many families and businesses across Devon and Somerset, the ‘circle of doom’ will soon be a thing of the past thanks to this government-backed programme bringing lightning-fast internet to rural areas. No one should be held back in their professional or personal lives because of lack of reliable digital connectivity, and it is fantastic to see around 37,000 more premises in the area set to have their online experiences transformed as part of this government’s Plan for Change.”
This contract forms part of four new contracts worth more than £289m the government has signed to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to around 131,000 additional homes and businesses across England and Wales. The latest contracts add to the 96,600 premises already set to benefit under a government agreement with Openreach, bringing the total so far to 227,600 premises.
Openreach CEO Clive Selley said: “Our new full fibre broadband network now reaches more than half of all properties in the UK, and we’re confident we can reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade, assuming the right regulatory and investment conditions exist. This is a British infrastructure success story which experts say will boost productivity by £73bn and bring a raft of social and environmental benefits for the country.
“We believe that everyone deserves access to fast and reliable broadband, and we’re proud that this partnership will help extend our ultrafast, ultra-reliable network to areas that would otherwise be left behind by the private sector.”
Up to £800m was announced in August 2024 to modernise broadband infrastructure in rural areas of England, Scotland and Wales, with Project Gigabit contracts rolling out speeds of at last one gigabit per second in more than 1.1 million hard to reach premises across the country.
Taunton and Wellington MP Gideon Amos met recently with Mr Bryant and Project Gigabit director Andrew Field to discuss the issues faced by his constituents. He said: “While 71.6 per cent of premises in Taunton and Wellington have theoretical broadband speeds of 1 gigabit per second, almost all areas of my constituency are in the worst 30 per cent for average download speeds. Ruishton, North Curry, Galmington and Trull are within the worst 10 per cent in the country.”
Airband had been under contract in 2020 to deliver full fibre broadband in rural areas across the former Sedgemoor and Somerset West & Taunton areas, but stepped back from these commitments in October 2024 – leaving communities from Burrowbridge to Sampford Arundel in the lurch.
Gideon Amos, Liberal Democrat MP for Taunton and Wellington
(Image: Taunton and Wellington Liberal Democrats)
Mr Amos continued: “While I understand the new Openreach contract will not initially cover premises included in Airband’s contract, I was assured there would be opportunities to build more areas into the contract for delivery. I have asked Building Digital UK to write to me and more than 30 parish councils in my constituency directly as soon as the contract is agreed, to tell me which areas it will cover and how further areas can be added to the contract, together with the time-scales involved.
“While the parishes of West Hatch, Hatch Beauchamp, Bickenhall, Curland, Staple Fitzpaine, Corfe, Orchard Portman, Stoke St Mary and Pitminster (Cluster 13) remain within Airband’s de-scoped contract, I am keenly aware that my constituents in these areas remain in the dark when it comes to a definitive timetable for connection. Gigabit connection is an essential utility like electricity or gas.
“Without it, rural communities in our part of Somerset will not thrive and those trying to run businesses vital to our local economy will be hamstrung. I will continue to press the minister and Project Gigabit to ensure your villages get the attention they deserve after so much failure in previous attempts at a national rollout of faster broadband.”
Tiverton and Minehead MP Rachel Gilmour outside the Houses of Parliament
(Image: István Barath)
Tiverton and Minehead MP Rachel Gilmour will be meeting Mr Bryant later in January to seek similar assurances about the new contracts for her constituency, which includes large swathes of the Exmoor National Park. According to the House of Commons Library, her constituency has one of the highest percentages of lines receiving speeds lower than 10 Mbps in the entire country, with 11.2 per cent of lines receiving speeds lower than this speed in 2023 – in contrast to the national average of 3.6 per cent.
She said: “In today’s economy, having a fast broadband connection is vital. My office has been contacted by constituents regarding unsatisfactory wifi speeds and unfulfilled promised connections across the constituency, as far too many people in Tiverton and Minehead feel utterly cut off from the outside world.
“Following Airband’s scale back, I have previously raised this issue with the minister in November 2024. I now welcome this opportunity to meet with Chris Bryant, where I hope to be given an update on broadband improvement, so that all constituents in Tiverton and Minehead can have access to high-speed wifi connections, which are vital to modern life.”
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