Page 200 - Minutes of meeting

The Connectivity Challenge

Digital

At superfast speeds (>24 Mbps), Barrow is well served by the broadband network, with
over 99% of premises having access to superfast speeds. This is illustrated on the
adjacent map from Ofcom, which shows the core Town area being virtually covered by
superfast. Furthermore, a tiny proportion of premises in Barrow do not have access to
broadband that meets the Universal Service Obligation for broadband, compared to at
least 2% of premises nationally. In terms of 4g mobile coverage, Barrow has similar
access to the national and regional average, although is less fortunate than Cumbria as
a whole which has above par levels of 4G provision.

However, superfast technology is being superseded with the current rollout of gigabit
capable Full Fibre, to which only <1% of premises in Barrow have access. The same
applies with Ultrafast, only very small pockets of the borough currently have access. Full
Fibre will become the commercial standard, so it is important that Barrow begins to
significantly increase its access.

The government plans to subsidise the rollout of Full Fibre to the hardest to reach
20% of the country, but given Barrow’s current levels of superfast connectivity, it is
unlikely that the Town area will fall within this 20%. Furthermore, Barrow also enjoys
a very low percentage (<1%) that are unable to receive the current Universal Service
Obligation.

However, with the first phase of the Digital Borderlands Voucher Scheme submitted
to the government, worth c. £4m, Barrow could see support in tackling specific not-
spot locations.

At the time of writing, significant numbers of UK employees are working from home
due to Covid-19, driving up demand for home broadband. Essentially a stress test of
current coverage, this will provide valuable new information to the Council on areas
of opportunity which could be leveraged with intervention.

Copyright © Hatch 2018. All Rights Reserved. Data source: Ofcom