A group of local people are looking at the options for bringing faster Broadband to the parishes of Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon.  This newsletter is to keep everyone in these local communities up to date on progress.

Recent progress

July:  We submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) in funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF).
21 Sept: DEFRA National Approvals Panel endorsed our EOI.  See ‘Full application for funding endorsed’.
24 Sept: The Country Land and Business Association (CLBA) describes Government broadband strategy as “slow, cumbersome and mired in red tape”.  See ‘Slow progress on government’s better broadband pledge’.
4 October: We held our second Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon Broadband community meeting. See ‘Second community meeting held’.
12 October: Following endorsement of our EOI, we had a call with DEFRA to discuss next steps.

Slow progress on government’s better broadband pledge

Despite a Government commitment to provide faster broadband coverage for everyone by 2015, progress is slow and the prospects for Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon don’t look good.

In December 2012, the Government committed to create ‘the best superfast broadband network in Europe’ by 2015, earmarking £530 million of public money to invest in infrastructure upgrades and installations.  It pledged that everyone would have access to broadband speeds of 2Mbits/sec, and at least 90% would have access to superfast speeds of 30Mbits/sec.

However, a Country Land and Business Association (CLA) report released in September says there is still a “huge amount” left to do.  It also claims the Government’s use of the word “commitment” is misleading. “We are calling on the Government to step up and agree to a Universal Service Obligation rather than just a Commitment,” says CLA President Harry Cotterell. “There is no legal sanction behind a Universal Service Commitment – it provides the Government with a get-out clause if the benchmark is not achieved.”

Even if things do improve, several reports indicate that Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon are unlikely to be among the 90% with access to superfast speeds.

• In the Broadband Delivery UK’s assessment of Next Generation Access, all three villages are “white” in its black/grey/white classification.  This denotes there is no current market for “Next Generation Access” (superfast broadband) and no plans to deliver such a service in the next three years.
• All three parishes are also served by exchanges classed as Market 1 by OFCOM, indicating that there is little chance of fast broadband being delivered by existing competition. BT is the only operator in Market 1 areas and there is little incentive for them to concentrate efforts here when it is fighting competitors in other areas.

With this in mind, a Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon Broadband project has been established to look at other options for bringing faster Broadband to the villages.

Investigating alternatives

Recognising that a superfast broadband speed is unlikely for local parishes even if the government fulfils its commitment, the Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon Broadband project is looking at other options.

“The most viable plan is to make use of the fibre optic cable already connected to Monyash Primary School,” says Steve Wake, from the project committee.

The network could then either be a combination of copper to the properties close enough to the cabinet and wireless for those too far away, or entirely wireless. The network would then extend from Monyash to Flagg and from Flagg to Sheldon wirelessly, probably using a line-of-sight technology with an entirely wireless network in both parishes.

“At this stage, we’re just investigating the possibilities but early indications suggest we could benefit from speeds of around 20Mbits/sec-30Mbits/sec in this way,” says Steve  “The final decision on technology will be made during the supplier selection phase.”

The all important question is how much will users have to pay.

“It’s too early to say for sure but the charge per connection is likely to be between £25 and £35 a month.  Over the coming months, we’ll be working with possible suppliers to understand the costs.  And before we move forward we will need to ensure we have enough customers who commit to take up the service at the agreed rate.”

Full application for funding endorsed

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has established a Rural Community Broadband Fund to provide grants to communities to establish superfast broadband in hard-to-reach areas. A recent decision by the National Approvals Panel has now opened the way for the Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon Broadband project to submit a full application.

“The maximum funding on offer to a project is 50% of eligible costs or a £300 grant, net of VAT, per premise covered – whichever is less,” says Chris Woodhouse from the project committee.

“Projects are then required to match this funding, for example through connection fees, service charges  and any other sources of funding we can find.  To make it commercially viable for the supplier, service charges would need to be set at a rate that will allow them to recover their investment and operating costs along with a reasonable return on investment.

“We submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) to secure funding in July.”

The DEFRA National Approvals Panel endorsed this EOI on 24 September 2012 with a number of conditions.

These include the need to:

• Explore the possibility of working with Youlgreave which is also working on an RCBF proposal.
• Provide more detailed research than we put in the EOI about the broadband services we currently have, our demographics, and the demand in our communities for superfast broadband.
• Explain how funding will be matched.
• Confirm that the cost people are prepared to pay is not prohibitive.
• Seek planning permission from the National Park Authority.
• Establish an appropriate legal structure for the project.
• Work closely with DEFRA to ensure any proposed solution uses technology that EU rules allow to be funded by State Aid.
• Ensure the community is within the final 10% hard to reach area as defined by Derbyshire’s Local Broadband Plan.
• Present a fully worked up business case.

“We had a call with DEFRA on 12 October to talk through next steps,” says Chris.  “We now need to decide on a target date for submitting a full application, probably by end March 2013. If we’re then successful, contracts need to be in place with suppliers no later than December 2013.”

Second community meeting held

The second Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon Broadband community meeting was held on 4 October in Monyash Village Hall. Around 25 people from all three villages attended along with guests from the Hucklow Community Broadband Project.

The meeting was led by Sylvia Green, Chief Executive, of Rural Action Derbyshire and a mixture of presentations, workshops and questions and answers made it very interactive.

“The meeting was a great opportunity for local people to find out more about how an improved broadband service could operate,” says John Tanner. “It was also a chance to recruit more volunteers to the project and we’ll be getting in touch with all those who said they’d be willing to get more involved.”

What’s next?

By December 2012:  Extend the committee; form a legal entity; create a detailed project plan

By end March 2013:  Initial deadline from DEFRA for a full application under RCBF – assuming we decide to apply.

Spring 2013:  Work with Peak Park to agree how to handle Planning

Summer 2013:  Issue Invitation to Tender and select supplier(s)

Summer/Autumn 2013:  Build service

November 2013:  Best estimate of when the service will go live.

Dec 2013:  If funding application successful, last possible date for contracts to be in place to satisfy DEFRA rules to get funding from RCBF.

Questions and answers

Read frequently asked questions on what a better Broadband service might mean, contracts and costs, timescales and technology.

Register interest

Digital Derbyshire needs residents and businesses to register their interest in receiving better broadband. By doing so you’ll be under no obligation to buy services if and when they are launched. Go to www.derbyshire.gov.uk/digitalderbyshire and click on the link on the right-hand side of the page.

Interested in joining the committee?

We’re about to arrange our next committee meeting. If you didn’t express an interest in getting involved at the community meeting and you’re interested in joining the committee, please get in touch.

For more information

Visit: Monyash, Flagg and Sheldon Broadband Project website

Email us at: broadband@monyash.net