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 counties.
Mr Bryant said: “For many families and businesses, the ‘circle of doom’ will soon be a thing of the past thanks to this programme bringing lightning-fast internet to rural areas.”
Connecting Devon and Somerset (Connecting Devon and Somerset)
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.
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.
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.
Wellington’s MP Gideon Amos is pledging to continue fighting to improve broadband for village communities. ( )
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.”
Airband had been under contract in 2020 to deliver full fibre broadband in rural areas across the former Sedgemoor and Somerset West and Taunton areas, but stepped back from these commitments in October 2024.
Tiverton and Minehead MP Rachel Gilmour will be meeting Mr Bryant later 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.
“I now welcome this opportunity to meet with Chris Bryant.”