Agenda item

Purpose of the item: To review, monitor and provide input to the access and improvements to broadband in Surrey.

Witnesses:

Katie Brennan, Engagement Manager

Amanda Richards, Network and Asset Management Group Manager

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Network and Asset Management Group Manager introduced the report by mentioning the Superfast Surrey programme, delivered in partnership with BT. The programme had resulted in more than 90,000 homes and businesses having faster download speeds, meaning that Surrey was in a good position regarding superfast broadband at the moment. Over the last eight or nine months, many people had been working from home in Surrey, and yet despite this, there had not been a large number of complaints about broadband speeds. However, it was important that Surrey continued to make progress in this area as technology was developing and there would be a need for faster technology in Surrey.

2.    The Group Manager continued to detail what Surrey County Council was focusing on at the moment, which included improving broadband speeds in rural areas by accessing government funding to upgrade a few schools and promoting government gigabit vouchers to communities in rural areas. Network operators such as Openreach had announced several areas in Surrey and were working on improving and expanding their gigabit-capable broadband, taking inspiration from other parts of the country. Surrey County Council was in the process of developing a Digital Infrastructure Strategy and this would be reported on in the coming months and brought to the Select Committee before being progressed.

3.    A Member asked how big the broadband team was and where the two witnesses present fitted into the structure. The Group Manager explained that currently the superfast broadband team comprised the Engagement Manager only. The Group Manager worked in the highways department and the Engagement Manager reported to the Group Manager. Both witnesses worked together to look at how superfast broadband could tie in with and improve highways going forward, amongst other things.

4.    A Member enquired how Surrey’s gigabit broadband coverage compared with neighbouring authorities. The Engagement Manager responded that currently, Surrey had about 16% gigabit-capable coverage. Network operators such as Openreach or Virgin Media generally looked for areas that were commercially viable, which were usually more urban areas due to their denser population. Urban areas such as London had been more heavily covered by operators such as Virgin Media; also, Virgin Media had regularly upgraded broadband coverage in London, meaning London had a high rate of gigabit-capable coverage. Surrey, on the other hand, had a relatively high rate of Virgin Media coverage at 66%, but this technology was ultrafast and had not yet been upgraded to be gigabit-capable. Discrepancies between coverage related primarily to how urban or rural an area was, rather than varying county by county.

5.    A Member asked whether the government’s expectation that the private sector deliver gigabit-capable broadband to around 80% of premises in the UK was reasonable in the Surrey context. The Engagement Manager explained that this depended on operators upgrading their infrastructure, and Surrey was covered by few operators, including Virgin Media, Openreach and a few smaller companies. It was likely that Surrey would reach around 80% gigabit coverage, but this depended on factors such as decisions taken by operators and central government. In November 2020, the government had allocated £1.2bn to spend on increasing gigabit-capable coverage, focusing on the 20% of premises that it was forecast commercial operators would not reach in the next few years. The government would be looking to address these areas using a mixture of both demand side interventions (such as vouchers and top-ups) and supplier side interventions where they would work directly with operators to expand coverage. It was anticipated that these interventions would begin in 2021.

6.    A Member asked how the Council was ensuring there were more than one or two infrastructure operators to ensure a competitive market in future. If coverage did not become more comprehensive, there could be an issue in future when people might continue to work from home much of the time, meaning demand might be less localised. The Engagement Manager emphasised the importance of small operators, which included Box Broadband, Broadband for Surrey Hills and Surrey Hills Internet. Unfortunately, there were few smaller scale operators in Surrey, due to the expense and difficulty of setting up these companies. However, the Engagement Manager was keen to encourage and promote them.

7.    A Member enquired how Surrey County councillors could get involved and help improve broadband coverage, perhaps through promotion on social media. The Engagement Manager welcomed Members’ help and detailed engagement that had already taken place, such as a postcard that had been sent to more than 40,000 premises, and a flyer that had been sent to residents who were keen to set up a community fibre partnership. She agreed to liaise with the corporate communications team to develop a template that Members could post on their Facebook page or other social media, or include in a newsletter or email signature.

8.    Noting that, as part of the Superfast Surrey programme, the Council had received one ‘clawback’ pay-out from BT and reinvested this in phase 2 of the programme, a Member asked whether another pay-out was expected and whether this had been built into the contract. Currently, Surrey County Council was investing millions of pounds in outside organisations; in line with the Surrey Vision for 2030, investment should come back into the county, so contracts should entail a profit on residents’ investments. The Engagement Manager responded that financial assumptions included a clawback mechanism for the duration of the contract, which was due to expire on 2 April 2023. Contracts had been developed in conjunction with Building Digital UK, which was part of the government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The financial assumptions included in the contract had been made in 2012, and since then technology had changed significantly; the smart technology used in the present day, for instance, could not have been anticipated in 2012. The Group Manager added that return on investment would be looked at closely in future.

9.    A Member remarked that there had been mention in the press of a report from consultancy firm EY on satellite technology and the urgency of fibre rollout and requested witnesses’ comments on this. The Engagement Manager stated that, in the past, satellite technology had not been practical to use – it had been very slow. However, SpaceX and other companies had developed satellite technology to show that it could be used to provide faster broadband. Other examples of new technology being developed included 5G coverage using drones, but 5G required a lot of fibre to be installed. The Council was in a good position for now but it could not sit on its laurels; it had to take advantage of any government funding available. Community fibre partnerships worked best if there was a large number of residents involved, thereby reducing or covering the overall cost to the residents.

Recommendation:

The Select Committee recommends that it receives the Digital Infrastructure Strategy, before the strategy is finalised, for scrutiny at a future meeting.

Action/further information to be provided:

The Engagement Manager to work in partnership with the communications team to provide materials that Members can use on their social media, newsletters or email signatures to promote the broadband programme and community fibre partnerships.