Broadband scheme 'preventing Devon village connections'

BBC reports that the scheme to provide decent broadband in rural Devon is actually preventing a village from getting access.
Villagers in Northleigh, near Colyton, went directly to infrastructure provider Openreach to get connected under the government's gigabit voucher scheme, which gave it £82,000 in 2020 and about 30 homes in the village have been plugged in via the Openreach work since. However, rural broadband arranger Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) took over and began using another provider, which is expected to take years longer to connect the village.
CDS is a taxpayer-subsidised programme, supplying rural areas not seen as cost-effective for commercial providers. CDS appointed provider Airband in 2021 to finish the work in Northleigh "without consulting [the] community, and so [they] are now precluded from receiving any further state aid to finish the project with Openreach.”
CDS said the village was due to be connected by the end of 2023 but reports indicate the wait could be longer.
Full article:
BBC - Broadband scheme 'preventing Devon village connections'

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