Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
The Welsh Government (WG) has revealed that an “unforeseen administrative error” meant they neglected to name one of the approved suppliers for their £70m (public subsidy) Extending High Speed Broadband (EHSB) project when the original list was announced earlier this year (here). The supplier, BB4W Ltd (Broadband 4 Wales), has now been added to the framework.
Just to recap. Earlier this year the WG confirmed that Openreach (BT), Fibrus, Wifinity and Airband had been appointed as suppliers who could bid on parts of their EHSB project. This aims to extend “high speed broadband” across a total of around 29,000 premises in poorly served areas of Wales (i.e. places that can’t yet access 30Mbps+ speeds) – such as those not due to benefit from commercial builds or Project Gigabit.
The actual detail of precisely what these contracts will deliver (broadband technology, speeds, premises passed per contract etc.) and where (i.e. towns, villages, regions) has yet to be set out. But it emerged this week that the Welsh Government neglected to name all of the approved suppliers for LOT 2 of the scheme, which is valued at £10m and intended for projects that require the installation of broadband networks to under 1,000 premises (i.e. smaller communities).