Bids for funding for rural broadband pilots

Shaping Norfolk's Future has been working with colleagues at Norfolk County Council to bid for two sources of funding for rural broadband pilots in the county.

SONGBIRD (Supporting Open Next Generation Broadband in Rural Districts)

• The aim is to assist the delivery of superfast broadband services into those rural areas which will otherwise remain unconnected to such services for the foreseeable future (the final third).
• The initiative is funded by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), and is being led by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).
• There is approximately £500,000 available for the region.

The bid was submitted on the 13th September. We have now been asked to submit a full business case for the project. Ours is one of seven bids that have been asked for a full business case out of 18 that were submitted.

BDUK (Broadband Delivery UK)

• The aim is to invest in at least three pilots for superfast broadband.
• There is approximately £5m – £10m available per pilot.

The bid was submitted on the 26th August directly to BDUK and to EEDA. Other bids were submitted from the East of England and EEDA were asked to indicate their preferred bid to BDUK. EEDA chose Cambridgeshire's bid ahead of Norfolks due to the belief it could be set up quicker.

It was announced in October that the Scottish Highlands & Islands, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Herefordshire are to be the locations where the pilots will take place. It is believed these locations were chosen due to the technology suggested and the lessons that could be learnt from them being applicable to other areas of the country.

Both bids are building on the rural broadband pilot which is mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter.