Superfast broadband access increases in Mid Devon

Almost 80% of homes and businesses in Mid Devon now have access to superfast broadband.

Figures shown to the district council's scrutiny committee revealed 30,412 premises can connect to internet speeds higher than 24 megabits per second.

Most have been supplied by a taxpayer subsidised programme, Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS).

CDS supplies rural areas which are not seen as cost-effective for commercial providers.

Work to connect a further 6,724 properties in the district will happen over the next two years, mainly through CDS, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Once complete, nearly 96% of premises will have access.

When CDS's planned contracts end in 2024, it estimates 1,700 of the hardest to reach premises will not have access to superfast broadband.

Matt Barrow, CDS stakeholder engagement officer, said those places could use the government's rural gigabit voucher scheme.

He said: "It provides funding for individual communities to work with providers and design their own networks.

"It gives them both a degree of control over the process and the funding is not inconsiderable.

"That said, it's not always enough, and we do have a process where we can inject small amounts of additional funding."

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