It is just over a year since Kent’s £40 million agreement with government agency BDUK and BT to bring superfast broadband to much of the county was announced (post of 18 March last year). The terms of our agreement were to bring superfast broadband (download speeds of more than 24 MBpS) to at least 91% of properties in Kent; to ensure that at least 95% of properties had access to higher-speed fibre-based broadband; and to ensure that remaining properties had access to a broadband service with at least 2MBpS download speed (and in most cases much more). All this was to be delivered by the end of 2015.
So far, the scheme has been running ahead of schedule, with the first services going live in December. From the start of April, we are in Phase 2 of the project, when the work starts in Sevenoaks – and the first services are planned to be live from September.
In addition, the government recently announced indicative allocations of its Superfast Extension Programme Fund, which totals some £250 million. This Fund aims to meet concerns that more remote rural areas will be left behind in the move to superfast broadband, by providing support for achieving at least 95% superfast coverage by 2017. Kent’s initial allocation is £5.6 million. This comes on top of Kent’s having secured £1.87 million from the (separately run) Rural Community Broadband Fund, overseen by DEFRA. This will benefit areas in four Districts, including Sevenoaks (though in the case of this particular fund it will be allocated in the south of the District to meet the scheme's eligibility criteria).
Kent has successfully been in the forefront of counties participating in the BDUK scheme for the benefit of its residents, and the latest announcements offer the prospect of still wider broadband coverage. Meanwhile, we are now at the point where the scheme becomes real for residents of Sevenoaks and of Darent Valley. You can find more information about the coverage in your local area here .
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