Delays hit Gigaclear broadband rollout in Herefordshire

Gigaclear’s deployment of a gigabit-capable fibre-to-the-premises network as part of the Fastershire project in Herefordshire has been hit by “delivery challenges”.

The ISP said that it will be tough to deploy their services to over 2000 of the planned homes and businesses without “significant additional resources”.

Gigaclear has previously run into trouble with its state aid supported contracts as part of the Building Digital UK (BDUK) project. Some of its deployments saw delays of around two years, and one of its contracts in Somerset and Devon fell through completely.

The Fastershire project opted to stick with Gigaclear and even revised their contract with the firm last year.

Fastershire initially announced that the deployment would reach over 70,000 premises, however it has now revised its target and will aim for 110,00 homes and businesses across Herefordshire and Gloucestershire by September next year.

Gigaclear has already turned on its services to just under 9000 rural premises in Herefordshire, but has warned that 2,324 of the locations it had planned to connect are now at risk.

A spokesperson for the Herefordshire Council said: “Whilst we recognise the contribution Gigaclear has made in meeting the ambitions of Herefordshire in having some of the fastest broadband in the country, we are incredibly disappointed that we now have premises under review. Our priority continues to be finding a solution for those communities including engaging with national government.”

CEO of Gigaclear, Gareth Williams, said: “We sympathise with the impacted communities in Herefordshire and understand that the continued delays are very disappointing. However, we are still working collaboratively with Fastershire to find a solution for those areas. Some of the premises in these areas are the most difficult to connect because there is very little existing infrastructure, the properties are geographically scattered and recent changes to the regulatory environment have damaged the investment case to connect these areas.

“We are grateful to the local authority for giving us the opportunity to be part of their broadband programme, and we will continue to explore how we can connect the communities affected.”