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The investment – to be implemented over the next three years - is the fourth phase of the ‘Connecting Cheshire’ project and will target rural areas in Cheshire and Warrington, where broadband speeds remain low and where it has not been commercially viable to invest previously.

Called ‘Digital 2020’, the project will focus on reaching premises in rural broadband black spots, a digital business support package to enable small businesses to exploit digital technologies such as e-commerce, cloud computing and a broadband connection voucher scheme for businesses.

Funding will come mainly from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and government sources, as well as from Connecting Cheshire and businesses.

To date, the Connecting Cheshire project has reached more than 97,000 premises with faster speeds and has switched-on more than 600 new roadside fibre broadband cabinets. The project has also been successful in driving take-up of the faster speeds by homes and businesses and will soon reach 50 per cent, one of the highest in the country.

The Digital 2020 project is a partnership of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester and Warrington Borough Councils, and is managed by Cheshire East Council’s arms length Skills and Growth Company.

Councillor David Brown, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “I am delighted this additional funding has been secured and that the Connecting Cheshire project is going from strength to strength.

“Faster broadband has been proven to drive economic growth and help businesses create jobs.

“The Digital 2020 programme has been designed to ensure we can help as many communities and businesses as possible benefit from faster speeds.”

The process of selecting an infrastructure partner for Digital 2020 is already underway and the scope of coverage will be confirmed once the procurement process is completed. It is hoped that the programme will start its roll-out in early 2018.

The Connecting Cheshire project was launched in April 2013, for more information visit: www.connectingcheshire.org.uk

Notes to editors:

Connecting Cheshire

The project is receiving £960,000 funding from Connecting Cheshire, and will oversee a business contribution of £140,000 as part of a 20 per cent contribution to the broadband connection voucher scheme included in Digital 2020.

For more information visit www.connectingcheshire.org.uk

European Regional Development Fund

The project is receiving £3.61m of funding from the England Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the managing authority for the ERDF. Established by the European Union, the ERDF helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.

Broadband Delivery UK

The project has been allocated £2.54m of funding from Broadband Delivery UK, (BDUK), part of the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. BDUK is delivering superfast broadband and local full-fibre networks to the nation. The government is supporting investment to:

• Provide superfast broadband coverage to 95 per cent of the UK by December 2017;
• Provide access to basic broadband (2Mbps) for all; and
• Stimulate private investment in full fibre connections by 2021

For further information, visit: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk

Skills and Growth Company

Cheshire East Council launched an ‘arms-length’ company in April 2016, to bring together skills and growth services under one structure.

The Skills and Growth Company will ensure the council can deliver more for less, achieving greater innovation and benefits for businesses and residents. It will direct businesses towards funding and investment opportunities, increase the availability and take-up of apprenticeships, support people into work, help to create jobs and stimulate growth and innovation. For more information see: www.skillsandgrowth.co.uk

Our Digital 2020 Consultation has now closed and we are now planning for our procurement.

The Connecting Cheshire Partnership intends to conduct an open procurement via OJEU for further coverage of Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband infrastructure (capable of delivering download speeds of at least 30 Mbps) in areas within its Programme Area where such broadband is currently unavailable. These areas, known as “white NGA” comprise around 26,000 premises, which have speeds of <24 Mbps and are in scope of the procurement (note these are subject to refinement as a result of Public Consultation Responses).

The contract will have an initial value of £5.08m with the potential to rise by a further £5m to £10.08m, subject to the Connecting Cheshire team being able to secure further funding. At this stage, we are planning to run the procurement as a single lot, but would welcome any feedback on this approach by 25^th April 2017 by contacting us via [email protected] .

The timescales for the procurement are as follows: -

Open Market Review and State Aid Consultation (completed) Nov-16 - Mar-17

Tender specification and contract design Mar - Apr-17

OJEU invitation to tender out with suppliers May - Jul-17

Tenders return Jul-17

Tender evaluation, clarification questions and supplier evaluation Aug-17

Preferred supplier status awarded and standstill Aug-17

Final BDUK assurance, State aid approval, grant agreement signed Sep-17

Contract signature with supplier Sep-17

Contract mobilisation Sep - Oct-17

Contract completion* Oct-19

Anticipated contract closure* Mar-20

* These dates will be subject to final bid responses but potential bidders should note that Completion and Final Payment Dates are stipulated by our funders and these requirements will need to factored into bid responses.

Further information will be made available via our website and on OJEU in due course. If you have any further queries please contact us at the above email address.

Connecting Cheshire are set to trial roadside fibre broadband cabinets with Artificial Intelligence that can talk to passers by and inform on a range of questions such as postcode coverage, fibre capacity and if any potential faults are impacting on performance.

This ground-breaking technology is believed to be the first of its kind, following hot on the heels of Amazon and Google’s home ‘virtual assistants’.

The boffins at Connecting Cheshire are also on the look out for someone to be the voice of the cabinets with a perfect Cheshire accent. Anyone wishing to audition for the role should contact the project team via Twitter @SFB_Cheshire.

Do you have a question about the Connecting Cheshire project?

Would you like to know more about the superfast broadband technologies in Cheshire?

Three public drop-in briefing events on the roll-out will be held:

6th March – Tarporley Village Hall, CW6 0AY; 5 – 7pm

8th March – Orford Centre, Warrington, WA2 8HE; 5 -7pm

16th March – Holmes Chapel Library, CW4 7AP; 5 – 7pm

Many more communities in Cheshire are set to benefit from the roll-out of superfast broadband – thanks to strong demand for the high-speed fibre technology by local households and businesses.

More than 40 per cent of customers in the Connecting Cheshire area have already chosen to take-up the service, triggering a ‘Gainshare’ award under the terms of the contract with BT to be used to further extend the fibre roll-out.

More than 6,000 premises have just been added to the Connecting Cheshire phase three roll-out plans for 2017 and 2018. As a result of the high take up there is a Gainshare contribution of £3.34m, making a total of £4.3 million including a further BT Investment.

It is expected that around 5,400 of the 6,000 premises will receive superfast speeds of more than 24Mbps and the work is projected to be completed by summer 2018.

Maps are available giving an indication of the proposed coverage. It should be noted that detailed surveys and planning have yet to be completed, so this information, together with any timescales, may change. Proposed coverage includes Mottram St. Andrew, Swettenham, Aston near Frodsham, Hatton near Warrington and Manor Park in Halton. See: www.connectingcheshire.org.uk/maps

Public drop-in briefing events on the roll-out will be held:
6th March – Tarporley Village Hall 5 – 7pm

8th March – Orford Centre, Warrington 5 -7pm

16th March – Holmes Chapel Library 5 – 7pm

The project has delivered fibre broadband to more than 92,000 homes and businesses in Cheshire over the past three years, installing 600 green fibre cabinets and 1,000 miles of fibre cable in the ground – enough cable to stretch from Crewe to Rome!

Councillor David Brown, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “Under its initial contract with BT, the Connecting Cheshire programme receives a dividend if take-up reaches a certain point. As this has been achieved, the money will be used to extend the network to areas previously outside the planned coverage area – which is great news.

“Investing public money in fibre broadband helps sustain our rural communities and maintains Cheshire’s competitive edge as a business destination. It also allows homeowners to do things that need a faster internet connection, like accessing skills and learning, entertainment and other social connections.”

Tony Morgan, BT’s programme director, said: “The Connecting Cheshire programme is going from strength to strength. We are seeing strong take-up of fibre broadband across the county and this is helping us reach even more communities.

“BT is committed to rolling out this transformational technology as far as possible. Together with our commercial rollout, more than 96 per cent of homes and businesses across the county are now able to access fibre broadband.”

To check availability in your area visit www.connectingcheshire.org.uk

All of the engineering work as part of Connecting Cheshire is being carried out by Openreach, BT’s local network business. This means residents and businesses with access to fibre broadband can choose from a wide range of internet service providers and benefit from competitive pricing and products.

To find out if residents or businesses can upgrade to fibre broadband they need to speak to their internet service provider to order an upgrade as they will not automatically be upgraded.

Connecting Cheshire is managed by Cheshire East Council’s arms-length Skills and Growth Company.

Connecting Cheshire has now reached over 92,000 premises with fibre and installed over 600 new cabinets in the 3 years since switching on its first cabinet in 2013. Amongst the latest cabinets to go live in time for Christmas was Pickmere 3 in Wincham which brings coverage off the Pickmere exchange to 1,300 premises. Former Chancellor George Osborne MP for Tatton cut the ribbon at the switch-on ceremony. He said: “I’ve been a huge supporter of getting high-speed broadband for my constituents. It allows people to work where they want and brings entertainment and knowledge to people and families at home. It’s no exaggeration to say that it is an essential part of modern life. This project is vital for the local, and indeed national, economy.”

Other cabinets to have gone live recently include Bollington 4 & 12, Bunbury 1 & 2, Chelford 7, Great Mollington 4, Ellesmere Port 41, 54 & 57, Marton Heath 5, Mickle Trafford 3, Middlewich 20, Mobberley 3, North Rode 4 & 5, Northwich 12, Pickmere 3, Warrington 11, 87 & 97, Widnes 80.

To check if your area has been upgraded please visit our website and use the ‘check availability’ link.

Connecting Cheshire are about to embark on 3 procurements as part of our Digital 2020 programme. One procurement is to secure a Delivery Partner for a further phase, (Phase 4), of broadband roll-out in the sub-region of Cheshire and Warrington, focussing on “Not Spots” i.e. those areas where there are still no plans to implement broadband infrastructure in the next 3 years. The second procurement is to secure the services of a supplier to set up, operate and manage a Voucher Scheme service to provide financial support to SMEs who would like to take advantage of technology to enhance their digital capability, including superfast broadband services. The third procurement will be for suppliers to provide business support services to help SMEs exploit digital technology.

To this end we are now engaging with the market. We have already held an initial kick off event at Alderley Park on Monday Oct 24^th, the slides from which can be seen here LINK TO SLIDES. We would now like to offer one to one sessions with suppliers. The sessions will last for 45 minutes and will serve to give as many suppliers in the market as possible an opportunity to fully understand our plans and provide feedback on the potential approach to help ensure that the intervention is appropriately designed. This is in accordance with advice from the National Competency Center / BDUK. To arrange a session please contact us at [email protected]

Over the summer, 11 new cabinet areas have recently been upgraded to fibre, covering over 1,400 additional premises that now have access to high-speed fibre broadband, thanks to Connecting Cheshire. These latest areas bring the total number of premises reached by the project to more than 85,000 since 2013.

The recently upgraded areas include:

Audlem 3
Bunbury 3
Chester Central 86
Comberbach 3
Ellesmere Port 48
Lower Peover 7
Lymm 10
Malpas 1
Widnes 8

To check availability in your area you can visit the Check Availability page and enter a postcode or a telephone number.

Connection to fibre broadband does not happen automatically and people must contact their service provider – there are more than 140 of them offering fibre broadband services across the UK – to place an order.

More people in Cheshire are signing-up for high-speed fibre broadband than ever before thanks to the work of Connecting Cheshire.

Connecting Cheshire – a multi-million pound partnership between four local councils and BT – has made fibre-optic broadband technology available to around 85,000 homes and businesses across the county.

And figures announced today show the number of households and businesses using the faster connections in the Connecting Cheshire area more than doubled in the past 18 months with 35 per cent now signed up to a fibre broadband package compared to 17 per cent just a year and a half ago.

One community which has seen significant additional coverage and strong take-up is Northwich, where 13 new roadside fibre cabinets have now been installed, covering some 1,250 homes and businesses. In some areas of the town, more than 80 per cent of people have chosen to take up the service – and the number is still rising.

Visiting the latest fibre broadband cabinet to ‘go live’ in the town, Graham Evans, MP for Weaver Vale, said: “In today’s digital society, fast broadband is absolutely essential for businesses and families alike. This new cabinet is another step in the right direction with many more homes and businesses now able to access this vital technology.

“I have long campaigned to ensure that everyone in Weaver Vale has access to superfast fibre broadband and I will continue to champion this at every level of Government.”

Councillor Brian Clarke Cabinet Member - Economic Development and Infrastructure for Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “Fibre broadband is transforming the lives of people across Cheshire. So much we do these days relies on a fast internet connection whether we’re at home or at work.

“And demand for better, faster broadband in Cheshire is clear – in the past 18 months twice as many homes and businesses have signed-up to use the new technology installed as part of the Connecting Cheshire programme.”

Tony Morgan, BT’s programme director, said: “We are delighted the rollout in Cheshire is proving to be so popular. It’s great to see the benefits of all the hard work of the programme coming to life through the number of people who are now taking advantage of the high speeds. The technology really does have the ability to transform the way people and businesses use the internet.

“Together with BT’s commercial rollout, more than 96 per cent of homes and businesses across the county are now able to access fibre broadband.”

Fibre broadband helps make everything happen online much faster than a standard broadband connection. The technology offers download speeds up to 80Mbps. To check availability in your area visit www.connectingcheshire.org

All of the engineering work as part of Connecting Cheshire is being carried out by Openreach, BT’s local network business. This means residents and businesses with access to fibre broadband can choose from a wide range of internet service providers and benefit from competitive pricing and products.

To find out if residents or businesses can upgrade to fibre broadband they need to speak to their service provider, they will not automatically be upgraded.

Connecting Cheshire has lined up as a Tour of Britain stage sponsor and launched a ‘broadband without brakes’ campaign to promote the roll-out of superfast fibre.

To coincide with the Tour of Britain cycle race stage across Cheshire in September, the campaign will help to drive the take-up of the additional fibre broadband across the county funded by the Connecting Cheshire Partnership of BT and four local authorities – including Cheshire East – and will feature the Fibre Guy characters.

Using the analogy of comparing cycling uphill on slow broadband with speeding downhill with superfast fibre broadband, the campaign will explain how to upgrade to a faster network and that in most cases upgrading can work out cheaper due to competition in the provider market.

Connecting Cheshire will be attending community cycling events during the summer as well as the Royal Cheshire County and Nantwich shows, plus at the start and finish of the Tour of Britain Cheshire stage on September 6.

To check availability of faster broadband in your area you can visit the Connecting Cheshire website and enter a postcode or a telephone number online at: www.connectingcheshire.org.uk/check-availability

Councillor David Brown, Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Council and on behalf of the Connecting Cheshire partnership, said: “This is a great fun campaign with a serious message that around 90 per cent of premises can now upgrade to superfast broadband.

“Not only is it likely to be cheaper but homes and businesses can take advantage of all the benefits of faster speeds for both work and play. So check, compare prices and change.”

To find out more about the ‘Broadband without brakes’ campaign please click here.