Essex Broadband Project Benefits from GBP1.9m BT Clawback

The Superfast Essex scheme in England, which is working to extend the availability of BT’s “superfast fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) services to 95% of the county by mid-2019, has become the latest to confirm that clawback will result in £1.9m being returned to help further boost coverage.

The clawback (gain share) mechanism in related Broadband Delivery UK (Government Framework) contracts requires BTOpenreach to return part of the investment when take-up of the new service passes beyond the 20% mark and the project in Essex, which has so far covered an additional 56,000 premises, has now hit that point.

Apparently the programme’s original expectation was to reach the 20% mark in early 2018, so in terms of uptake they’re definitely “ahead of schedule“.

Kevin Bentley, Essex County Councillor, said:

“We have been able to deliver broadband to more people, faster than planned. This is one of the best results in the country and the good working relationship between us and BT is a key element of this success. This means we are now able to invest further, reaching even more homes and businesses in Essex with this key technology.”

The current project should help to put the faster connectivity within reach of an extra 120,000 homes and businesses when it completes, although today’s news means that there will be more funding available for further expansion in the future. At this stage though it’s still too early to say how far the extra money will go.