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BT under fire over superfast online project [Western Daily Press (UK)](Western Daily Press (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Two councils have launched a scathing attack on the plans to roll out superfast broadband in Devon and Somerset, accusing BT of an "aggressively commercial" approach. Other authorities, including Teignbridge, are now refusing to contribute funding to the Connecting Devon and Somerset fund, which is currently Pounds 3.65 million short of the target, because they claim not to have any guarantee that residents in their area will receive access to faster data speeds. The senior councillor tasked with scrutinising the project has called his findings "the most disappointing" committee in which he has been involved while in local government. Tim Wood, chairman of the 1,300 Number of premises connected to superfast network last Friday in Ottery St Mary, Devon task and finish forum (TAFF), has been scrutinising the project for East Devon and South Somerset district councils, which have both refused to sign "gagging orders" as insisted on by the communications giant. Critics say BT has been handed a virtual monopoly, allowing it to use public money to fund already "highly profitable" operations, leaving hard-to-reach rural areas without any service. Reporting the results of the investigation, he said BT had been "aggressively commercial", pressing the case for nondisclosure agreements with "considerable force", leaving councils excluded from discus-sions that might have been helpful to their residents. "Indeed, the lack of information has made it more difficult for rural residents to seek possibly viable alternative solutions to their internet problems," councillor Wood added. One meeting of the TAFF attended by BT and councillors "demonstrated a complete failure for minds to meet," his report complained. "There was negligible willingness for those who knew more information to reveal it and there was an air of frustration and anger on the part of those who felt their residents were being kept in the dark despite huge quantities of taxpayers' money being spent on the project," he added. "In this instance, it was not Whitehall but BT who knew best but for the ordinary person it was better that they were ignorant." Officials are currently launching a tender process which would take coverage in the two counties up to 95 per cent of all properties while 100 per cent remains an aspiration. The previous Pounds 94 million contract with BT promised that 90 per cent of businesses and residents across the two counties would see data transfer speeds increased to speeds of 24Mbps and above by 2016. The umbrella organisation Connecting Devon and Somerset has now secured Pounds 19.1 million of a target Pounds 22.75 million from district and county councils to fill in the gaps in hard-to-reach areas. The Pounds 3.65 million gap actually represents a Pounds 7.3 million shortfall in investment when potential match funding by the Government is taken into account. A spokesman for CD&S said the success of the programme "is not diminished" by the report's recommendations, which did not highlight the numbers connected. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |