MP Gideon Amos this week pledged he would continue fighting for improved broadband in rural communities near Wellington.

Mr Amos has written to more than 30 parish councils across the Taunton and Wellington constituency following a recent meeting with Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant.

They were joined by programme director Andrew Field, of Project Gigabit, the Government scheme which is supposed to enable hard-to-reach communities to access fast and reliable gigabit-capable broadband.

Mr Amos said: “I made the point that, while 71.6 per cent of premises in Taunton and Wellington have theoretical broadband speeds of one gigabit per second, almost all areas of my constituency are in the worst 30 per cent for average download speeds.

“The areas of Ruishton, North Curry, and, in Taunton, the areas of Galmington and Trull, are within the worst 10 per cent in the country.”

Mr Amos said Airband UK was given four contracts in 2020 by Connecting Devon and Somerset to deploy full fibre broadband in rural areas of the former Somerset West and Taunton, parts of Sedgemoor and East Devon, as well as areas of Mid Devon, South Hams, and Teignbridge.

ACCESS to full fibre broadband has been rolled out to another 1,700 homes and businesses by internet service provider Airband as part of the Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme.
Picture: DCC (jan 2023)
Airband UK has dropped more than half of the premises which it was supposed to be connecting to superfast broadband in the latest debacle to hit the failing Connecting Devon and Somerset agency.

He said: “However, in October, 2024, Airband stepped back from its earlier commitments.

“As a consequence, it will now deliver full fibre to 27,171 premises rather than 55,493.”

Dozens of parishes in the Wellington area are no longer included in the Airband build, including West Buckland, Bradford on Tone, Otterford, Churchstanton, Sampford Arundel, Wellington Without, Oake, Milverton, Wiveliscombe, Ashbrittle, Stawley, Bathealton, Chipstable, Langford Budville, Clatworthy, Brompton Ralph, Holcombe Rogus, Burlescombe, Clayhidon, Dunkeswell, Hemyock, Culmstock, Uffculme, and Burlescombe.

Mr Amos said: “In responding to my concerns, the Minister and the programme director agreed to address the lack of gigabit-capable connections and promised that a contract with BT Openreach covering our area is expected to be signed in the next few weeks.

“While I understand this will not initially cover premises included in Airband’s contract, I was assured there would be opportunities to build more areas into the contract for delivery.

“I have asked Building Digital UK to write to me and to parish councils, directly as soon as the contract is agreed, to tell me which areas it will cover and how further areas can be added to the contract, together with the timescales involved.

“While some parishes remain within Airband’s descoped contract, I am keenly aware that my constituents in these areas remain in the dark when it comes to a definitive timetable for connection.”

Mr Amos said he would continue to press the Government for updated information.

He said: “Gigabit connection is an essential utility like electricity or gas.

“Without it, rural communities in our part of Somerset will not thrive and those trying to run businesses vital to our local economy will be hamstrung.

“So, I will continue to press the Minister and Project Gigabit to ensure villages get the attention they deserve after so much failure in previous attempts at a national rollout of faster broadband.”